THE  TRUE  STORY  OF 
ALSACE  -  LORRAINE 


BY 


ERNEST  ALFRED  VIZETELLY 


(LB  PETIT  HOMMB  ROUGB) 


WITH  A  MAP 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


•-.>.    ^ 

h 


PRINTED    IN    GREAT   BRITAIN 


A  MES  AMIS  DE  FRANCE 
1870-1918 

POST  TENEBRAS  SPERO  LUCEM 

E.  A.  V. 


TWENTY  CBNTUBIES  AGO 

"  Right  and  wrong  being  confounded,  many  are  the 
wars  and  many  the  instances  of  wickedness  throughout 
the  world.  Unpaid  is  the  honour  due  to  the  plough, 
forsaken  lie  the  fields,  their  husbandmen  have  been  taken 
away,  and  the  curved  sickle  is  forged  into  the  unbending 
sword.  Strife  is  roused  on  one  side  by  Euphrates,  on  the 
other  by  Germany.  Neighbouring  communities,  having 
broken  their  treaties,  bear  arms  one  against  the  other, 
and  Mars,  to  whom  nothing  is  sacred,  rages  over  all  the 
world." 

VIBGIL,  Georgics,  Bk.  I 


PREFACE 


THE  idea  of  writing  this  book  occurred  to  me  when  I  found, 
both  by  conversing  with  friends  and  acquaintances  and  by 
listening  at  odd  moments  to  remarks  passed  by  "  men  in 
the  street,"  how  very  little  is  known  about  Alsace-Lorraine 
in  Great  Britain.  The  general  ignorance  appeared  to  me  to 
be  the  more  regrettable  as  my  acquaintance  with  all  the  more 
important  German  utterances  and  writings  on  this  subject 
since  1871  convinced  me,  already  at  the  outset  of  the  Great 
War,  that  whatever  conditions  the  Allies  might  resolve  to 
exact  of  Germany,  the  one  which,  more  than  any  other,  she 
would  resist  to  her  utmost  would  be  the  restitution  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  to  France.  Nevertheless,  it  was  absurd  for  Baron 
von  Kiihlmann  to  assert,  as  he  did  shortly  after  his  appoint- 
ment as  German  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that  the  sole 
obstacle  to  peace  was  the  question  of  Alsace-Lorraine.  As 
our  Foreign  Secretary,  Mr.  Balfour,  replied — virtually  re- 
peating the  utterances  of  our  successive  Prime  Ministers, 
Mr.  Asquith  and  Mr.  Lloyd  George — we  undoubtedly  desire 
to  see  Alsace-Lorraine  restored  to  France  ;  but  it  is  ridiculous 
to  imagine  that  this  one  question  "  stands  out  solitary,  pre- 
eminent, unconnected  with  any  other  of  the  objects  of  the 
war."  "  We  are  fighting,"  as  Mr.  Balfour  said,  "  in  order,  in 
the  first  place,  that  Europe  may  be  freed  from  the  perpetual 
menace  of  the  military  party  in  Germany  "  ;  and,  assuredly, 
if  that  object  is  to  be  attained,  questions  affecting  quite  a 
number  of  countries  will  require  solution. 

It  is  true  that  at  one  moment  certain  doubts  arose  in 
France  as  to  how  far  her  Allies  might  be  with  her  in  her 
legitimate  desire  to  recover  the  territory  lost  in  1871  ;  but, 
assuredly,  those  doubts  have  been  dispelled  by  the  important 
pronouncements  which  have  emanated  from  Mr.  Lloyd  George 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

and  President  Wilson  of  the  United  States  whilst  this  volume 
has  been  passing  through  the  press.  France,  it  may  be 
pointed  out,  claims  the  unconditional  restoration  of  the  lands 
wrenched  from  her  by  Germany ;  but  in  Great  Britain  and 
elsewhere  there  has  been  considerable  talk  of  consulting  the 
present  inhabitants  of  Alsace-Lorraine  by  means  of  a  ple- 
biscitum.  Quitting,  for  a  moment,  the  lofty  standpoint  of 
our  French  friends,  and  taking  an  independent  and,  I  trust, 
practical  view  of  the  matter,  I  have  discussed  this  question 
of  a  plebiscitum  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  the  present 
volume.  As  the  reader  will  find,  the  conclusion  at  which 
I  have  arrived  is  that,  owing  to  the  changes  which  have 
occurred  since  1871,  a  genuine  plebiscitum  is  impossible. 
Thus,  even  from  a  lower  standpoint  than  that  of  the  French 
government,  unconditional  restoration  seems  to  me  to  be 
imperative. 

In  the  course  of  my  work  I  have  sketched  the  history  of 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  down  to  the  time  of  the  Great  War. 
Some  readers  may  think  that  I  have  given  too  much  space 
to  ancient  history,  but  I  have  dealt  with  it  at  some  length 
precisely  because  it  is  largely  on  ancient  history  that  the 
Germans  have  based  their  claims  to  the  territory  annexed  by 
them.  For  a  similar  reason  I  have  touched  on  racial  and 
linguistic  questions,  on  which,  indeed,  I  might  have  said  a 
great  deal  more  had  I  wished  to  produce  a  scientific  treatise. 
What  I  have  written  respecting  these  matters  will,  I  think, 
suffice  to  give  the  reader  an  adequate  idea  of  the  rival  con- 
tentions of  the  Germans  and  the  French. 

In  the  historical  part  of  my  narrative  I  have  made  no 
attempt  to  conceal  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the  Old 
Regime  in  France  the  government  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
was  often  very  bad.  But  the  reader  must  remember  that 
bad  government  then  prevailed  throughout  the  kingdom, 
and  was  in  no  wise  peculiar  to  the  eastern  provinces.  That 
widespread  misrule  was,  indeed,  the  raison  d'etre  of  the 
Great  Revolution.  But  whatever  occurred  during  the  last 
century  of  the  old  monarchy's  existence,  the  attachment  of 
the  Alsatians  and  the  Lorrainers  to  France  itself  remained 
as  steadfast  as  that  of  the  folk  of  Picardy,  Burgundy,  Gascony 
or  any  other  part  of  the  country,  and  was  exemplified  in  the 


PREFACE  ix 

most  striking  manner  throughout  the  wars  both  of  the 
Revolution  and  of  the  First  and  also  the  Second  Empire. 
I  may  add  that  at  an  early  stage  in  the  present  gigantic 
struggle,  though  more  than  forty  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
severance  of  1871,  it  was  officially  estimated  that  30,000 
Alsatians  were  already  serving  with  the  French  colours  and 
that  a  score  of  French  general  officers  were  connected  by 
parentage  with  the  lost  territory. 

With  respect  to  the  union  of  Strasburg  with  France  at  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV,  I  would  direct  the  reader's  attention  to 
the  historic  document  of  which  I  give  a  verbatim  translation 
in  the  Appendices  to  this  volume.  This  document  shows  how 
the  magistrates  of  the  Alsatian  capital,  before  accepting 
French  sovereignty,  laid  down  a  number  of  specific  conditions, 
nearly  all  of  which  were  immediately  accepted  by  the  Marquis 
de  Louvois  on  behalf  of  Louis  XIV.  The  convention  which 
was  entered  into  thoroughly  disproves  the  often-repeated 
German  assertions  respecting  the  "  forcible  seizure "  of 
Strasburg  in  1681.  Elsewhere  in  my  pages,  I  also  relate 
how  the  little  Republic  of  Mulhouse  elected  to  become  a  part 
of  the  Republic  of  France.  Further,  I  have  touched  on  the 
appropriation  of  parts  of  the  Sarre  valley  by  Prussia  and 
Bavaria  in  1815,  the  districts  in  question  having  previously 
pertained  to  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  Certain  French  aspirations 
with  respect  to  those  districts  have  been  construed  by  some 
ignorant  British  politicians  as  signifying  on  the  part  of  France 
a  resolve  to  annex  a  great  stretch  of  absolutely  German 
territory.  I  can  in  no  wise  claim  to  speak  for  France  on 
such  a  matter,  but  I  take  it  that,  even  if  some  flight  recti- 
fication of  frontier  in  the  Sarre  valley  should  for  security's 
sake  appear  advisable,  the  Republic's  one  essential  claim  is 
the  restoration  of  the  territory  torn  from  her  by  Bismarck 
at  the  end  of  the  Franco-German  War. 

In  the  map  serving  as  a  frontispiece  to  this  volume  the 
names  of  localities  are  given  in  the  German  forms  which  have 
been  current  during  the  last  forty-seven  years.  Many 
localities  never  had  German  names  before  1871.  Throughout 
my  narrative  I  have  generally  used  the  French  ones,  which 
are  more  familiar  to  me,  and  I  have  therefore  appended  to 
my  work  two  alphabetical  lists,  which,  in  cases  of  doubt,  will 


x  PREFACE 

help  the  reader  to  identify  a  number  of  places.  With  respect 
to  the  Alsatian  capital  I  have  used  neither  the  French 
spelling  of  its  name — Strasbourg — nor  the  German  spelling 
— Strassburg — but  have  adhered  to  the  old  English  practice 
of  writing  Strasburg,  just  as  we  write  Brussels  instead  of 
Bruxelles,  Florence  instead  of  Firenze,  and  Vienna  instead  of 
Wien. 

E.  A.  V. 

LONDON,  January  1918 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  INTRODUCTORY  :  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  RESOURCES 

OF  ALSACE-LORRAINE  1 

II.  CITIES,  TOWNS,  AND  NOTED  SPOTS  25 

III.  ALSATIAN  HISTORY  TO   THE   TREATY   OF 

WESTPHALIA  55 

IV.  ALSATIAN  HISTORY  TO  THE  WAR  OF  1870  91 

V.  THE  STORY  OF  LORRAINE  TO  THE  LAST  NATIVE 

DUKES  142 

VI.  THE  STORY  OF   LORRAINE  FROM  THE  TIME  OF 

STANISLAS  TO  1870  172 

VII.  ALSATIANS  AND  LORRAINERS  198 

VIII.  THE  WAR  OF  1870-71  228 

IX.  UNDER  GERMAN  RULE  267 


APPENDICES 
A.  PLACE-NAMES  DIFFERING  IN  FRENCH  AND  GERMAN      293 


B.  STRASBURG  UNITED  TO  FRANCE 


297 


INDEX 


301 


"We  mean  to  stand  by  the  French  democracy  to  the 
death  in  the  demand  they  make  for  a  reconsideration  of  - 
the  great  wrong  of  1871,  when,  without  any  regard  to  the 
wishes  of  the  population,  two  French  provinces  were  torn 
from  the  side  of  France  and  incorporated  in  the  German 
Empire.  This  sore  has  poisoned  the  peace  of  Europe  for 
half  a  century,  and,  until  it  is  cured,  healthy  conditions 
will  not  have  been  restored." 

MB.  LLOYD  GEORGE  to  the  delegates  of  the   Trade 

Unions,  January  5,  1918. 

"  All  French  territory  should  be  freed,  and  the  invaded 
portions  restored,  and  the  wrong  done  to  France  by 
Prussia  in  1871  in  the  matter  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  which 
has  unsettled  the  peace  of  the  world  for  nearly  fifty  years, 
should  be  righted,  in  order  that  peace  may  once  more  be 
made  secure  in  the  interest  of  all." 

PRESIDENT  WILSON  to  Congress,  January  8,  1918. 


I 


INTRODUCTORY  :  CHARACTERISTICS  AND 
RESOURCES  OF  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

Territories  and  Nationalities  :  Napoleon  III  and  the  Principle  of 
Nationalities  :  Great  Britain's  Position  in  1870  :  Bismarck,  Napoleon, 
and  Belgium  :  Gladstone's  Championship  of  Belgium  :  The  special 
Treaty  guaranteeing  Belgian  Independence  :  Why  Britain  did  not 
support  France  in  1870-71  :  The  Cession  of  Alsace-Lorraine  to 
Germany  :  Configuration,  Characteristics,  and  Resources  of  the 
annexed  Territory  :  Its  Extent  and  its  Frontiers  :  Its  chief  Water- 
ways :  Its  many  Railways  :  The  Mountainous  Zone  of  the  Vosgea  : 
Chief  Mountains  and  Forest-lands :  The  Zone  of  the  Slopes :  Orchards, 
Vineyards,  and  Wines  :  The  Zone  of  the  Plain  :  Characteristics  of 
Lorraine  :  Chief  Crops  of  the  Reichsland  :  Beer  :  Live  Stock  :  Salt, 
Coal,  and  Iron :  Sundry  Manufactures :  The  Alsatian  Cotton  Industry : 
Other  Textiles. 

SMALL  States  or  communities  have  generally  found  it 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  prevent  the  encroach- 
ments of  powerful  neighbours.  History  has  again 
and  again  exemplified  the  truth  of  the  saying  that 
they  shall  take  who  have  the  power  and  they  shall 
keep  who  can.  Broadly  speaking,  it  was  only  in  the 
nineteenth  century  that  the  principle  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  individual  nationalities  made  any  head- 
way, and  that  mainly  as  a  matter  of  theory,  not  one 
of  practice.  The  twentieth  century,  however,  has  set 
itself  the  task,  or,  perhaps  one  ought  to  say,  the  task 
has  been  imposed  upon  it,  of  settling  territorial  ques- 
tions according  to  the  desires  of  the  different  popula- 
tions. Real  national  unity  has  always  been  a  plant  of 
slow  growth.  Monarchs  have  repeatedly  combined 
several  States  under  their  sway,  but  without  achieving 


2  THETHUESTORYOF 

homogeneity.  Perhaps  we  in  England  were  the  first 
in  Europe  to  attain  to  something  of  the  kind  in  spite 
of  the  many  diverse  elements  of  our  population.  The 
English  part  of  our  island  became,  broadly  speaking, 
united  long  before  France  had  developed  into  any- 
thing like  the  State  that  she  is  to-day. 

Joan  of  Arc  did  not  merely  drive  us  from  France, 
she  laid  (in  my  opinion)  the  first  foundations  of 
French  unity  and  patriotism.  In  her  time,  however, 
even  when  we  had  been  constrained  to  abandon  our 
conquests,  "  the  gentle  King "  whom  she  led  to 
Reims  to  be  crowned  and  anointed  in  that  city's  then 
splendid  fane,  only  exercised  direct  sway  over  a 
portion  of  the  land  which  now  constitutes  the  French 
State.  The  royal  dominions  were  built  up  by  slow 
degrees,  either  before  Joan's  time  or  afterwards,  and 
largely  with  the  help  of  matrimonial  alliances,  but 
sometimes  also  by  conquest  and  cession,  until  at  last 
Brittany,  Burgundy,  Normandy,  Dauphine,  Gascony, 
Provence,  Poitou,  Languedoc,  Auvergne,  Navarre, 
Foix,  Picardy,  Artois,  French  Flanders,  Lorraine, 
Alsace,  and  other  provinces — all  at  one  time  indepen- 
dent or  quasi-independent  States — became  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Kingdom  of  France.  All  that  was  the 
work  of  centuries,  whereas  in  our  island,  after  the 
subjugation  of  Wales,  there  remained  but  two  rulers, 
two  crowns,  those  of  England  and  Scotland. 

On  the  other  hand,  Germany,  down  even  to  our 
own  times,  remained  a  conglomeration  of  many 
States,  often  in  conflict  one  with  another  and  having 
different  ambitions,  different  outlooks  upon  life. 
Spain,  although  its  crowns  were  united  by  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  wrould  seem,  in  spite  of  political  entity, 
to  have  resisted  all  attempts  to  weld  its  people 
properly  together.  There  are  still  more  points  of 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  3 

difference  between,  for  instance,  the  Catalan,  the 
Castillian,  and  the  Andalusian,  than  between  the 
Northumbrian  and  the  man  of  Wessex,  or  between 
the  Picard  and  the  French  southerner.  Italy,  we 
know,  remained  for  long  centuries  a  land  of  inter- 
necine conflict  under  the  oppressive  sway  of  foreign 
or  native  tyrants.  Austria,  peopled  by  hostile  races, 
has  never  been  much  more  than  a  geographical 
expression,  and  although  held  together  until  our 
period  by  stern  personal  rule,  seems  fated,  at  some 
time  or  other,  to  fall  to  pieces.  We  English,  however, 
with  our  friends  the  Scots  and  the  Welsh,  and,  one 
may  add,  at  least  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  Irish, 
have  become  to  all  intents  and  purposes  one  com- 
munity, and  although  the  stress  of  twentieth-century 
life  may  demand  certain  devolutions  of  authority, 
there  can  be  no  real  question  of  sundering  us  one  from 
another. 

During  the  nineteenth  century  the  foremost  cham- 
pion of  the  principle  of  nationalities  was  the  French 
Emperor  Napoleon  III.  In  certain  respects  he  de- 
serves to  be  judged  severely,  and  I  do  not  desire  to 
withdraw  or  to  qualify  anything  which  I  have  written 
about  him  in  former  volumes  of  mine,  but  it  must  be 
put  to  his  credit  that  he  freed  at  least  a  part  of  Italy 
from  Austrian  tyranny,  that  he  desired  to  free  the 
Poles  when  they  attempted  their  last  great  rising 
against  the  Russian  autocracy,  and  that  he  also 
wished  to  intervene  on  behalf  of  Denmark  against 
Prussia  and  Austria.  But  in  regard  neither  to  the 
Danes  nor  to  the  Poles  could  he  obtain  any  effective 
support  from  the  British  Government. 

Our  rulers  were  unwilling  to  embark  on  any  policy 
that  suggested  adventure.  During  the  earlier  sixties 
Great  Britain,  in  the  heyday  of  the  Free  Trade  policy, 


4  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

was  waxing  richer  and  richer.  Her  middle  classes 
were  growing  fat,  sleek,  smug,  and  egotistical.  More- 
over, the  German  sympathies  of  the  sovereign  were 
notorious.  Although,  by  reason  of  her  sex,  Queen 
Victoria  could  not  reign  in  Hanover,  she  had  inherited 
Hanoverian  traditions,  and  was  influenced  far  too 
much  by  her  German  family-connexions  and  interests. 
Our  present  generation  is  now  harvesting  the  bitter 
fruit  of  some  of  the  tendencies,  prejudices,  and 
mistakes  of  her  reign. 

A  short  time  after  the  Franco-German  War  of 
1870-71  the  late  Lord  Kitchener,  then  quite  a  young 
man,  remarked  to  a  friend  that  if  only  10,000  British 
troops  had  been  landed  in  Normandy,  France  would 
not  have  been  defeated  so  grievously  as  became  the 
case.  Kitchener's  view  was  that  British  action  would 
have  had  a  powerful  moral  effect,  and  have  encouraged 
the  other  chief  Powers — Italy,  Austria,  and  Russia — 
to  intervene  and  stop  the  struggle.  It  is,  however, 
not  at  all  unlikely  that  the  course  which  Kitchener 
suggested  would  have  had  a  very  different  effect,  and 
have  proved  the  signal  for  a  general  European  War, 
particularly  as  the  Russian  Tsar  (Alexander  II)  was 
at  that  period  much  more  inclined  in  favour  of 
Germany  than  in  favour  of  France. 

One  thing  is  quite  certain  :  we  were  in  no  position 
to  give  any  really  effective  help  to  the  French.  In 
1870  we  were  suffering  from  commercial  depression. 
Cotton  was  "  up,"  owing  to  the  shortage  of  supplies. 
Trade  unions  were  agitating.  Many  joint-stock  enter- 
prises had  fallen  into  discredit.  Agrarian  crime  was 
rife  in  Ireland,  where  reform  of  the  land  laws  was 
being  planned.  In  England  the  question  of  elemen- 
tary education  had  come  to  the  front.  Our  naval 
estimates  for  that  year — voted  before  the  war  broke 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  5 

out_Were  lower  by  £1,700,000  than  those  of  1868-9, 
and  lower  by  £750,000  than  those  of  1869-70.  Since 
1859  never  had  they  been  so  low.  The  staffs  at 
Woolwich,  Sheerness,  Portsmouth,  etc.,  had  all  been 
reduced.  We  had  only  28  broadside  ships  afloat, 
and  we  could  only  have  mustered  40  vessels  of  all 
categories,  mounting  altogether  550  guns.  As  it 
happened,  the  wrar  proved  essentially  a  land  war,  and 
our  army  estimates  amounted  to  merely  some  13 
millions  sterling,  Cardwell,  then  Secretary  for  War, 
pluming  himself  on  the  fact  that  he  had  reduced  those 
of  the  previous  year  by  £1,136,000.  Our  total  avail- 
able forces  amounted  to  22  regiments  of  cavalry  and 
75  battalions  of  infantry,  with  some  artillery  and 
engineers.  It  is  true  that  the  militia  establishment 
represented  111,000  men,  and  that  we  had  300,000 
breech-loaders  in  store.  There  was  also  the  Volunteer 
Force,  but  virtually  the  whole  of  our  military  organiza- 
tion was  in  the  melting-pot,  the  abolition  of  the 
purchase  of  commissions  and  other  reforms  devised 
by  Cardwell  being  in  progress.  Briefly,  when  war 
broke  out  between  France  and  Germany  in  July  1870 
we  were  even  less  ready  for  participation  in  a  European 
conflict  than  we  were  when  the  present  war  began  in 
August  1914. 

At  the  outset  it  seemed  that  if  we  should  side  with 
either  belligerent  it  would  be  with  Germany  rather 
than  with  France  ;  and  curiously  enough — this  will 
show  that  history  does  repeat  itself — it  was  the 
question  of  Belgium  which  led  our  statesmen  to  take 
that  view.  Both  Gladstone  and  Disraeli  were  in 
agreement  on  the  subject,  which  came  to  the  front 
owing  to  Bismarck's  statements  that  Napoleon  III 
had  been  hankering  for  the  possession  of  Belgium  ever 
since  1862.  The  truth  appears  to  be  that  when  the 


6  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

German  statesman  prevailed  on  the  French  Emperor 
to  remain  neutral  in  the  conflict  between  Prussia  and 
Austria  in  1866  he  hinted  that  France  might,  with 
Prussia's  assent,  even  assistance,  find  compensation 
in  the  direction  of  Belgium.  Unfortunately  Napo- 
leon's ambassador,  Benedetti,  blundered  badly,  and 
Bismarck  possessed  himself  of  a  memorandum  or 
draft  treaty  on  the  subject  which  Benedetti  drew  up, 
this  document  being  disclosed  when  war  broke  out 
in  1870. 

Great  Britain  naturally  became  alarmed.  States- 
men of  all  parties  demanded  that  the  neutrality  of 
Belgium  should  be  respected.  On  the  last  day  of  the 
parliamentary  session  Gladstone  expressed  himself  in 
these  vigorous  terms  : 

If  Belgium  should  be  absorbed  to  satisfy  any 
greedy  appetite  for  aggrandizement,  come  whence 
it  may,  the  day  that  witnesses  that  absorption  will 
hear  the  knell  of  public  right  and  public  law  in 
Europe.  Can  this  country  quietly  stand  by  and 
witness  the  perpetration  of  the  direst  crime  staining 
the  pages  of  history,  and  thus  become  a  participator 
in  the  sin  ? 

Great  Britain  answered  that  question  in  1914,  and 
is  answering  it  still.  In  1870  the  King  of  Prussia  was 
more  reasonable  and  sensible  than  is  his  grandson  the 
German  ruler  of  to-day.  A  treaty  was  signed  between 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Prussia,  covenanting  to 
maintain  Belgian  independence  and  neutrality  intact. 
And  it  was  stipulated  that  if  either  belligerent  should 
violate  the  treaty,  Great  Britain  would  combine  with 
the  other  to  ensure  observance  of  it.  It  was  further 
set  down  that  this  treaty  should  remain  in  force  for 
one  year  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  after  which 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  7 

the  signatories  should  revert  to  the  Quintuple  Treaty 
of  1839. 

Thus,  at  a  time  when  our  naval  and  military 
power  was  at  its  lowest,  we  contrived  to  save  Belgium. 
None  can  say,  however,  what  might  have  happened 
if  France  or  Germany  or  both  of  them  had  refused  to 
listen  to  reason.  The  case  against  Napoleon  III  was 
not  in  reality  so  black  as  Bismarck's  artful  diplomacy 
made  it  appear  to  be,  but,  naturally,  the  affair  created 
no  little  prejudice  against  the  French  Emperor  at  the 
outset  of  the  Franco-German  War.  What !  The  so- 
called  Champion  of  Nationalities  was  himself  harbour- 
ing evil  designs  against  a  small,  weak,  and  inoffensive 
nation  ?  It  seemed  monstrous !  Napoleon  cannot 
be  held  blameless  in  the  matter.  He  had  allowed 
himself  to  be  ensnared  by  Bismarck  when  the  latter 
baited  him  with  the  promise  of  an  accession  of  territory 
at  the  expense  of  Belgium. 

All  who  participated  in  the  affair  carried  with 
them  to  their  graves  the  real  truth  respecting  the 
negotiation.  But,  remembering  Bismarck's  repeated 
trickery,  including  the  falsification  of  the  Ems  tele- 
gram, the  conviction  deepens  that  Benedetti's  "  draft 
treaty "  was  virtually  dictated  by  the  Prussian 
statesman,  and  that  the  idea  of  the  conquest  of 
Belgium  (in  which  Prussia  was  to  have  assisted 
France  "  with  all  her  military  and  naval  forces ") 
and  the  contemplated  purchase  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Luxemburg  from  the  King  of  the  Netherlands, 
originated  in  the  Wilhelmstrasse  and  not  at  the 
Tuileries,  and  had  as  its  sole  object  the  desire  to 
keep  France  quiet  whilst  Prussia  was  prosecuting 
her  designs.  Benedetti's  error  was  to  commit 
Bismarck's  suggestions  to  writing,  and  to  leave  that 
writing  with  him. 


8  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

Whatever  the  truth  may  have  been,  it  is  at  least 
certain  that  apart  from  Napoleon  III  and  a  few 
members  of  his  immediate  entourage  nobody  in  France 
entertained  the  slightest  desire  to  annex  Belgium. 
Both  sides  respected  the  treaty  which  they  signed 
with  Great  Britain,  and  although  the  Sedan  disaster 
might  have  been  averted  had  Marshal  MacMahon's 
army  crossed  the  Belgian  frontier,  this  was  not 
attempted — those  French  troops  who,  amidst  the 
debacle,  passed  into  neutral  territory  being  only 
fugitives,  who  laid  down  their  arms. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  British  sympathy 
with  France  became  aroused,  and  it  increased  steadily 
during  the  seven  months  of  resistance  in  which 
Gambetta  figured  so  conspicuously.  Various  abortive 
diplomatic  endeavours,  in  which  Great  Britain  par- 
ticipated, were  made  to  bring  about  an  armistice,  but 
no  Power  attempted  to  succour  France  by  force  of 
arms.  Bismarck,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
state  of  our  military  organization,  laughed  at  the  idea 
of  actual  intervention  on  our  part.  It  is  a  question 
whether  we  should  have  been  capable  at  that  time  of 
a  really  great  effort  proportionate  to  that  which  we 
have  been  making  since  1914.  Circumstances,  more- 
over, were — at  least  on  the  surface — very  different 
from  those  prevailing  at  the  outset  of  the  present  war. 
There  was  not  the  same  incentive  to  participation  in 
a  great  struggle,  particularly  as  the  Belgian  question 
had  been  settled.  Prussia  was  striding  onward, 
undoubtedly.  For  the  third  time  in  six  years  she 
had  embarked  on  war,  but  in  1870  it  was  not  generally 
imagined  that  she  would  become  a  perpetual  menace 
to  the  peace  and  the  liberties  of  Europe.  Only  a  few 
men  of  foresight  really  apprehended  the  far-reaching 
consequences  of  her  triumph  over  France.  The  British 


ALSACE -LORRAINE  d 

nation  generally  was  opposed  to  participation  in  any 
foreign  entanglements.  The  sovereign,  who  then 
undoubtedly  exercised  great  influence  on  our  foreign 
policy,  was,  by  reason  of  her  relationships,  decidedly 
pro-German.  Further,  as  I  said  before,  young 
Kitchener's  suggestion  of  trying  the  moral  effect  of 
landing  a  few  thousand  men  in  Normandy  might 
well  have  resulted  very  differently  from  what  he 
anticipated. 

Thus  the  struggle  between  Germany  and  France 
continued.  Gallant,  desperate,  but  almost  vain  were 
the  efforts  of  the  French  National  Defence  Govern- 
ment to  stem  the  tide  of  invasion.  Bazaine  sur- 
rendered to  the  enemy  the  flower  of  the  forces  of 
France,  and  the  chief  stronghold  of  his  native  Lorraine ; 
the  Loire  armies  were  driven  back ;  Paris  was  con- 
strained to  capitulate  by  lack  of  food,  and  the  victors 
imposed  upon  the  vanquished,  not  only  the  payment 
of  what  then  appeared  to  be  a  huge  war  indemnity 
(200  millions  sterling),  but  also  the  cession  of  5600 
square  miles  of  territory,  inhabited  by  1,200,000 
souls.  That  territory  was  turned  by  the  Germans 
into  the  Reichsland  of  Alsace-Lorraine. 

I  propose  to  recount  in  other  chapters  of  this 
volume  the  earlier  history  of  the  annexed  country, 
the  circumstances  attending  and  immediately  follow- 
ing the  annexation,  and  the  chief  incidents  of  the 
German  rule  from  1871  to  1914.  In  the  first  place, 
however,  I  wish  to  give  the  reader  some  idea  of 
the  configuration,  characteristics,  and  resources  of  the 
so-called  Reichsland,  such  as  they  were  at  the  time  of 
the  annexation,  and  such  as  they  had  become  when 
war  broke  out  in  1914. 

During  French  rule  Alsace  was  divided  into  two 


10  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

departments  called  Upper  and  Lower  Rhine — Haut- 
Rhin  and  Bas-Rhin.  Both  of  these  departments 
passed  to  Germany  with  the  exception  of  the  fortified 
town  of  Belfort  (Haut-Rhin)  and  an  adjacent  strip  of 
territory  comprising  about  a  hundred  small  communes. 
Lorraine — in  the  ninth  century  a  kingdom  stretching 
from  the  North  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean,  between 
the  Rhine,  the  Vosges,  the  Jura,  and  the  Alps  on  the 
east,  and  the  Scheldt,  the  Meuse,  the  Saone,  and  the 
Cevennes  mountains  on  the  west,  in  such  wise  as  to 
include  several  regions  which  afterwards  became 
known  by  other  names — had  gradually  dwindled  in 
old  regime  days  to  the  status  of  a  duchy,  and  its  name 
applied  only  to  four  departments  of  modern  France, 
those  of  the  Meuse,  the  Meurthe,  the  Moselle,  and  the 
Vosges.  Of  these  the  Germans  of  1870-71  annexed 
portions  of  the  Moselle  and  the  Meurthe  (646  com- 
munes, or  from  a  fifth  to  a  quarter  of  the  former 
duchy),  so  that  the  French  were  left  in  possession  of 
the  Meuse,  the  Vosges  (less  eighteen  communes  cover- 
ing some  50,000  acres),  and  fragments  of  the  other 
two  departments,  which  they  amalgamated  under  the 
name  of  Meurthe-et-Moselle. 

The  north-western  frontier,  that  affecting  Lorraine, 
was  traced  in  a  very  arbitrary  fashion,  in  order  to 
give  the  Germans  possession  of  important  strategical 
positions  and  localities  which  for  one  or  another  reason 
they  particularly  coveted.  For  the  southern  half  of 
the  western  frontier  a  more  natural  boundary — that 
of  the  Vosges  Mountains — was  found,  these  heights 
remaining  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  though 
the  Germans  possessed  themselves  of  certain  important 
summits,  slopes,  and  spurs.  South  of  Belfort,  how- 
ever, and  as  far  as  the  Swiss  frontier,  an  arbitrary 
line  was  drawn  across  the  famous  Trouee  or  Gap, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  11 

which  had  always  been  a  vulnerable  point  of  Eastern 
France. 

Such,  then,  became  on  the  western  or  French  side 
the  frontier  of  the  Reichsland  of  Elsass-Lothringen, 
otherwise  Alsace-Lorraine.  In  other  respects  the 
annexed  territory  retained  its  previous  boundaries, 
extending  on  the  north  to  (1)  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Luxemburg,  (2)  that  part  of  Rhenish  Prussia  which  is 
known  as  the  Sarre  or  Saar  Valley  (niched  from 
France  by  Prussia  in  1815),  and  (3)  the  Bavarian 
Palatinate,  in  like  way  extended  in  that  year.  On 
the  east  the  boundary  remained  the  Rhine,  skirted 
on  the  right  by  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden.  On  the 
south  the  short  strip  of  frontier  facing  Swiss  terri- 
tory remained  unaltered.  The  Germans  followed  the 
French  system  with  respect  to  the  chief  administrative 
divisions  of  their  new  acquisition.  The  former  Haut- 
Rhin  department  became  Oberelsass  (Upper  Alsace), 
the  Bas-Rhin  Unterelsass  (Lower  Alsace),  whilst  the 
Meurthe  and  the  Moselle  lands  were  joined  together 
and  called  Lothringen  or  Lorraine.  The  respective 
areas  of  the  three  divisions  (Bezirke  in  German)  were 
as  follows  :  Upper  Alsace,  1354  square  miles  ;  Lower 
Alsace,  1848  square  miles ;  Lorraine,  2403  square 
miles.  Altogether  the  annexed  territory  is  rather 
more  than  120  miles  in  length.  Its  least  breadth,  in 
the  south,  is  about  22  miles  ;  its  greatest  105  miles,  in 
the  north. 

Bordered  on  the  east  by  the  Rhine,  Alsace,  or 
rather  most  of  it,  is  traversed  by  that  river's  tributary 
the  111,  from  which  it  is  supposed  by  certain  writers 
to  have  derived  its  name,  some  decomposing  the 
latter  as  follows  :  Ell  or  Ele  =  111 ;  sass  =  inhabi- 
tants ;  these  two  forming  the  word  Elsass.  Others 
trace  the  name  back  to  Alsa,  which  was  applied  to  the 


12  THE   TRUE   STORY   OP 

111  in  certain  Latin  documents  of  the  tenth  century. 
In  the  seventh-century  Merovingian  chronicle  ascribed 
to  Fredegarius  the  Scholastic,  the  land  is  for  the  first 
time  called  Alesatia,  and  its  inhabitants  are  referred 
to  as  Alesaciones.  In  the  eighth  century  one  finds 
the  names  Elisacia  and  Alsazas  ;  in  the  ninth,  Elsazo 
and  Elisazo  are  occasionally  met  with ;  in  the  thir- 
teenth one  comes  upon  Elsaz,  equivalent  to  the 
modern  German  Elsass,  whilst  three  hundred  years 
later  a  variant,  Edelsaz,  appears.  Briefly,  the  etymo- 
logy of  the  name  is  obscure,  but  it  may  well  have  been 
derived  from  the  river  known  in  modern  times  as 
the  111. 

This  river  is  the  most  important  of  the  Rhine's 
Alsatian  tributaries,  and  has  for  many  miles  an 
almost  parallel  course.  It  is  joined  by  such  streams 
as  the  Bruche  (Bruch,  Breusch),  the  Doller,  the 
Thur,  the  Lauch,  the  Fecht,  the  Weiss,  the  Andlau, 
etc.  The  Moselle  carries  other  rivers — notably  the 
Saar  or  Sarre — to  the  Rhine.  North  of  the  111, 
moreover,  the  Rhine  receives  first  the  Moder,  with 
the  latter 's  tributary  the  Zorn,  and  afterwards  the 
Lauter,  which  separates  Alsace  from  the  Bavarian 
Palatinate.  Of  the  above-mentioned  rivers  only  the 
Rhine  and  the  111 — the  latter  from  Colmar  to  its 
junction  with  the  Rhine — are  navigable,  but  the 
minor  streams  tend  to  enhance  the  land's  fertility 
and  to  assist  its  industries. 

Moreover,  the  country  is  crossed  by  navigable 
canals,  dating  from  the  French  regime,  which  created 
a  great  network  of  artificial  waterways  connecting  all 
parts  of  French  territory.  One  of  these  canals,  that 
from  the  Rhone  to  the  Rhine,  crosses  Alsace  between 
the  111  and  the  Rhine  (taking  the  same  direction  as 
those  rivers)  from  the  vicinity  of  Belfort  to  Strasburg. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  13 

The  other  canal,  that  from  the  Marne  to  the  Rhine, 
comes  from  French  Lorraine,  and  also  runs  to  Stras- 
burg,  passing  Saverne  (turned  into  Zabern  by  the 
Germans)  on  its  way.  There  is  a  northern  offshoot 
of  this  canal  extending  to  Saaralben. 

Of  course  these  waterways  are  not  the  only  means 
of  communication.  Roads  and  railways  have  been 
multiplied  by  the  Germans  since  the  days  of  the 
annexation.  Most  of  the  railways  were  constructed 
for  strategical  purposes,  but  they  have  also  added  to 
the  Reichsland's  material  prosperity.  The  main  line 
from  Paris  to  Strasburg,  by  way  of  Avricourt,  meets 
at  Strasburg  a  line  which  follows  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  northward  from  Basle.  Another  links  Stras- 
burg to  Wissembourg  (Weissenburg).  Another  runs  to 
Rothau  by  way  of  Molsheim.  Another  joins  Haguenau 
to  Sarreguemines,  now  Saargemund.  Saverne  is 
connected  by  rail  with  Schlestadt  (Schlettstadt) ; 
Schlestadt  with  Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines  (Markirch) ; 
Colmar  with  Brisach  (Breisach)  and  Miinster ;  Sulz 
with  Gueb wilier,  Mulhouse  with  Mullheim  in  Baden, 
as  well  as  with  Cernay  (now  called  Sennheim)  and 
Wesserling.  Nor  have  the  French  been  idle  in  the 
little  part  of  Alsace  remaining  to  them — the  Belfort 
territory — for  since  1871  Belfort  has  been  linked  by 
rail  with  Giromagny,  Montbeliard,  and  Delle. 

As  in  Alsace,  so  on  the  annexed  plateau  of  Lorraine. 
You  find  direct  rail  from  Metz  to  Strasburg  via 
Saverne,  rail  to  Metz  from  Kaiserslautern  and  Neun- 
kirchen  by  the  alternate  routes  of  Saarloiiis,  Saar- 
briicken,  and  Saargemund,  the  first  via  Boulay  (Bol- 
chen),  the  second  and  the  third  via  Beningen,  Falken- 
berg,  and  Courcelles ;  whilst  other  lines  run  from 
Thionville  (Diedenhofen)  to  Saargemund,  and  thence 
to  Haguenau  in  Alsace,  besides  which  many  short 


14  THE    TRUE    STORY   OF 

cross-lines  cover  the  country  in  virtually  every  direc- 
tion, so  that  troops  and  materiel  may  be  hurried 
northward,  southward,  westward,  eastward  as  occasion 
may  require.  All  those  railways,  extending  to  every 
possible  point  of  the  Reichsland  (in  1914  there  were 
1269  miles  of  normal  and  50  of  narrow  gauge),  form, 
as  it  were,  a  great  spider's  web,  or,  as  some  may  say, 
suggest  the  tentacles  of  a  formidable  predatory 
monster.  At  the  same  time,  as  was  previously  men- 
tioned, the  country  has  benefited  by  them  in  time  of 
peace. 

Geographers  have  agreed  to  divide  Alsace  into 
three  zones  :  that  of  the  Mountains — the  Vosges ;  that 
of  the  Slopes — the  last  Jura  and  Vosgian  spurs  ;  and 
that  of  the  Plain — near  the  Rhine.  The  chain  of  the 
Vosges  starts  from  the  vicinity  of  Belfort,  and  extends 
northward  to  Rhenish  Bavaria.  Generally  speaking, 
its  altitude  decreases  as  it  goes  northward.  Geologists 
divide  the  chain  (whose  total  length  is  about  120 
miles)  into  two  sections  of  different  formation- 
southward  the  "  Crystalline "  and  northward  th<> 
"Limestone"  Vosges.  The  highest  mountain,  the 
Ballon  de  Guebwiller  or  Soulz,  which  is  in  the  annexed 
territory,  has  an  altitude  of  about  4630  feet.  Next 
in  altitude  come  the  Hohneck  (4440  feet),  the  Rothen- 
bach  or  Rheinkopf — the  French  and  German  Staff 
maps  differ — (about  4290  feet),  and  the  Ballon  d' Alsace 
(4062  feet).  The  name  of  ballon  is  given  to  several 
of  these  heights  on  account  of  their  rounded  summits. 
All  of  the  above-named  belong  to  the  southern  section 
— that  is,  to  the  Crystalline  Vosges.  Among  the  Lime- 
stone heights  the  highest  summit  is  that  of  Mount 
Donon  (about  8292  feet). 

The  three  principal  passes  are  those  of  the  Col  de 
Bussang,  affording  communication  between  Mulhouse 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  15 

and  Epinal ;  the  Col  du  Bonhomme,  by  which  you  may 
go  from  Colmar  to  Epinal ;  and  that  of  Sainte-Marie- 
aux-Mines,  between  Schlestadt  and  Saint-Die.  The 
Schlucht,  Saales,  and  Saverne  passes  also  have  their 
importance.  Of  all  the  Vosges  mountains  the  one 
whose  name  became  the  best  known  to  British  readers 
during  the  earlier  period  of  the  Great  War  was  the 
Hartmannsweiler  Peak,  which  is  the  last  height  of 
consequence  among  the  Vosgian  spurs  in  the  direction 
of  Mulhouse.  There  was  fierce  contention  between 
the  French  and  Germans  for  possession  of  the  summit 
(3107  feet  above  sea-level),  but  it  was  eventually 
captured  by  the  Chasseurs  Alpins,  and  gave  the 
French  command  of  four  roads  and  several  miles  of 
railway  lines.  The  exploit  was  the  more  meritorious 
as  the  mountain  sides  are  extremely  abrupt  and  the 
German  defences  were  formidable. 

North  of  Mount  Donon  and  between  Alsace  and 
the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine,  the  Vosgian  chain 
declines  rapidly  to  altitudes  of  1700  and  1600  feet. 
Near  Saverne  it  is  intersected  by  the  valley  of  the 
Zorn,  beyond  which  it  becomes  a  succession  of  slopes 
and  rounded  summits  which  never  exceed  an  elevation 
of  1300  feet.  Generally  speaking,  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  chain,  the  steepest  acclivities  are  on  the 
Alsatian  side.  Here  you  find  dark  ravines  overlooked 
by  picturesque  feudal  ruins,  such  as  are  seldom  seen 
on  the  French  side,  together  with  wild  or  charming 
valleys,  watered  by  rivulets — the  Doller,  the  Thur,  the 
Lauch,  the  Lieprette,  the  Bruche,  and  so  on,  whose 
names  the  valleys  take.  The  species  of  trees  with  which 
the  mountains  are  so  largely  planted  vary  according 
to  the  altitude.  The  loftier  parts  are  clothed  with 
conifers  of  several  kinds,  and  on  the  lower  parts  you 
find  beech,  oak,  ash,  birch,  larch,  hornbeam,  chestnut, 


16  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

and  elm.  There  is  good  mountain  pasture  on  many 
points,  but  the  forest  lands,  though  they  diminished 
by  10  per  cent,  or  so  between  the  French  Revolution 
and  the  German  annexation,  are  still  of  great  extent. 
In  1870  it  was  estimated  that  the  Alsatian  forests 
(not  only  in  the  Vosges,  but  in  other  parts  also) 
covered  nearly  730,000  acres.  A  return  made  to- 
wards the  beginning  of  the  present  century  showed 
an  area  of  685,000  acres  in  Alsace  and  of  412,000 
acres  in  the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine.  Since  then 
large  clearings  would  appear  to  have  been  effected. 

The  wild  cherry  (merisier)  is  grown  extensively  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Vosges,  its  fruit  being  used  (as  in 
the  Black  Forest)  for  making  Kirsch.  Alsace,  gene- 
rally, is  a  land  of  fruits.  The  late  oblong  plum 
(Prunus  sebastica)  called  Quetsche  and  Zwetsche  in 
German,  predominates  in  all  parts  of  the  Reichsland, 
there  being,  perhaps,  some  three  million  trees  of  this 
kind.  There  are  also  more  than  a  million  apple-trees, 
three-quarters  of  a  million  pear-trees  (about  half  in 
Lorraine) ;  virtually  the  same  number  of  cherry-trees, 
nearly  half  a  million  walnut-trees,  and  between  30,000 
and  40,000  chestnuts. 

In  Alsace  these  trees  thrive  mostly  in  what  is  called 
the  Zone  of  the  Slopes,  which  also  includes  most  of 
the  vineyard  land. 

Before  the  annexation  the  Alsatian  vineyards 
covered  between  60,000  and  62,000  acres,  and  20,000 
families  were  more  or  less  interested  in  viticulture. 
To-day  (return  of  1913)  more  than  67,000  acres  in 
the  whole  Reichsland  (which  of  course  includes 
Lorraine)  are  under  vines.  The  vintage  of  1913  (a  bad 
year)  yielded,  however,  less  than  4,000,000  gallons  of 
wine.  The  growths  of  the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine 
are  of  less  importance  than  those  of  Alsace.  It  was 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  17 

the  Emperor  Probus  who,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
third  century,  first  ordered  the  plantation  of  vines  in 
the  Rhenish  region,  in  which  Alsace  was  included. 
Most  of  the  vineyards  are  on  the  slopes  below  the 
Vosges,  between  Thann  and  Miitzig.  There  are  vines 
also  in  the  Sundgau,  at  Kochersberg,  and  along  the 
slopes  of  Lower  Alsace  as  far  as  Wissembourg,  and 
others  again  near  the  111  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Colmar,  and  in  the  plain  near  Ochsenfeld.  The  best 
wines  are  those  of  Ribeauville,  Riquewihr,  Guebwiller, 
and  Thann,  followed  by  those  of  Neuweiler  and  Wolks- 
heim,  all  in  Upper  Alsace.  White  wines  predominate, 
but  red  are  made  also.  In  the  vicinity  of  Colmar 
some  vine-growers  prepare  what  is  called  a  vin  de  paille 
or  "  straw- wine,"  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
grapes  are  dried  and  ripened  upon  straw  for  several 
weeks  before  they  are  committed  to  the  wine-press. 
This  Colmar  straw- wine  enjoys  considerable  repute. 
It  is  on  record  that  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  fourteenth 
century  quantities  of  Alsatian  wine  were  sent  to 
England.  Later  there  was  a  flourishing  wine-trade 
with  Holland.  Of  more  recent  times  the  Germans 
have  either  sent  us  Alsatian  wines  in  their  natural 
state  as  Rhenish  or  Moselle,  or  have  blended  them 
with  their  own  growths. 

The  Alsatian  "  Slope  Zone  "  is  well  populated  and 
very  fertile.  In  the  Upper  section  vines  and  fruit- 
trees  are  abundant,  whilst  in  the  part  pertaining  to 
Lower  Alsace  the  cultivation  of  cereals  is  more 
extensive.  In  the  Zone  of  the  Plain  the  subsoil  near 
the  Rhine  is  often  gravel,  but  the  land  becomes  more 
and  more  fertile  in  character  as  you  gradually  recede 
from  the  river.  The  Rhine  bed  is  said  to  have 
formerly  had  a  width  of  from  330  to  as  many  as 
1100  yards,  but  it  has  been  gradually  reduced  by 


18  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

dykes  and  drainage  to  260  yards  or  thereabouts. 
There  are  still  many  marshy  meadows  and  peat-beds 
on  the  Alsatian  side  of  the  river.  Most  of  the  large 
Alsatian  towns  are  in  the  Zone  of  the  Plain,  and  here 
the  density  of  the  population  is  often  twice  as  great 
as  in  the  Mountainous  Zone.  Cereal  crops  predomi- 
nate, but  vegetables  are  grown  extensively,  notably 
potatoes  and  cabbages,  the  latter  being  sent  largely 
into  Germany  to  be  transformed  there  into  Sauerkraut. 
Hops  are  also  grown  in  this  Zone,  and  tobacco  is 
cultivated  there. 

The  Lothringen  or  Lorraine  section  of  the  Reichs- 
land  offers  from  the  agricultural  standpoint  less 
interesting  features  than  Alsace.  Most  of  this  Lor- 
raine land  is  a  plateau,  the  highest  ground  being  that 
nearest  to  the  Vosges.  In  the  valley  of  the  Moselle 
the  fruit-trees  flower  a  fortnight  earlier  than  on  the 
plateau.  The  vine  cannot  be  cultivated  above  an 
altitude  of  1100  feet,  or  corn  above  2600  feet,  whereas 
in  the  Vosges  it  is  grown  at  a  height  of  3000  feet  and 
more.  Thus  the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine  is  more 
noted  for  its  iron  mines,  smelting  furnaces,  metallur- 
gical manufactures,  salt  pits,  potteries,  etc.  It  is 
watered  on  the  west  by  the  Moselle,  which  passes 
Metz  and  Thionville  before  entering  Rhenish  Prussia, 
and  towards  the  east  by  the  Sarre  or  Saar  (Saravius), 
which  takes  its  rise  in  the  Vosges  and  flows  northward 
past  Sarrebourg  and  Sarreguemines  before  inclining 
to  the  north-east  in  order  to  unite  with  the  Moselle. 
Across  the  frontier  of  Rhenish  Prussia  it  is  joined  by 
the  Nied,  which  waters  the  more  central  part  of  the 
annexed  Lorraine.  Another  river,  the  Seille,  takes  its 
rise  in  the  southern  part  of  the  annexed  districts, 
winds  for  a  short  distance  through  French  territory, 
and  ultimately  joins  the  Moselle  at  Metz.  The  valleys 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  19 

and  slopes  near  these  various  rivers  are  the  most 
fertile  parts  of  the  Lothringen  division  of  the  annexed 
country. 

The    following    tables    supply    some    particulars 
respecting  the  crops  raised  in  the  entire  Reichsland  : 

ACREAGE  UNDER  CULTIVATION 


Crops 

1900 

1913 

Hay  and  other  fodder. 

462,154 

485,755 

Wheat       ..... 

385,394 

342,695 

Oats           

274,656 

282,165 

Rye  

116,445 

138,632 

Barley        ..... 

132,105 

122,727 

Potatoes    ..... 

224,345 

226,790 

Vines          ..... 

— 

67,090 

Hops          ..... 

9,796 

10,462 

Tobacco     ..... 

2,810 

3,842 

PRODUCE  IN  METRIC  TONS  OF  2204  LB. 


Crops 

1900 

1913 

Hay  and  other  fodder. 

630,715 

137,786  * 

Wheat       .         .         . 

228,529 

238,048 

Oats           

155,301 

209,963 

Rye  

68,674 

92,889 

Barley       

92,518 

108,678 

Potatoes    ..... 

1,135,474 

1,226,463 

Wine  (gallons)    . 

9,173,912  f 

3,934,442 

Hops          ..... 

38,346 

15,950 

Tobacco     ..... 

2,897 

4,878 

A  little  supplementary  information  may  be  added 
to  those  tables.  Lucern  and  clover  figure  among  the 
crops  cultivated  for  fodder.  Industrial  plants,  such 
as  colza,  cameline,  poppies,  hemp,  and  flax,  are  grown 

*  Hay  only.  t  In  1897, 


20  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

in  various  parts.  The  Alsatian-Lorrainer  being  a 
beer-  as  well  as  a  wine-drinker,  large  quantities  of  the 
former  beverage  are  brewed.  Indeed,  if  one  may 
trust  certain  returns,  the  beer  produced  in  the  Reichs- 
land  in  1913  exceeded  31  million  gallons.  The 
quantity  seems  a  large  one,  but  it  sinks  almost  to 
insignificance  when  one  finds  it  stated  that  Bavaria 
brewed  no  less  than  418  million  gallons  of  beer  in  the 
same  year.  What  a  paradise  that  indicates  for  the 
devotees  of  Gambrinus  !  Thirteen  years  previously 
(1900)  it  is  recorded  that  77  breweries  in  Alsace- 
Lorraine  had  an  output  of  nearly  25  million  gallons, 
representing  a  value  of  over  1,824,000  marks  or 
approximately  £90,000.  I  have  found  no  figures 
respecting  the  quantity  of  spirits  distilled,  but  it  was 
valued  in  1900  at  rather  more  than  £80,000. 

The  cattle  in  Alsace-Lorraine  belong  largely  to  the 
Swiss  and  Jura  breeds.  The  cheese  of  Minister  near 
the  Vosges  has  a  reputation,  but  when  it  is  placed 
upon  the  market  it  is  usually  too  odoriferous  and  of 
too  high  a  flavour  to  suit  a  palate  with  any  pretensions 
to  delicacy.  Other  cheeses  are  made  at  the  many 
chalets  a  fromage  among  the  high  Vosgian  pastures, 
the  total  output  being  perhaps  200  tons  annually. 
The  horses  common  to  the  Reichsland  are  said  to  be 
descended  from  an  Asiatic  breed.  They  are  usually 
small.  Formerly  very  hardy  and  vigorous  in  spite  of 
their  size,  they  appear  to  have  been  spoilt  by  inju- 
dicious crossings.  The  pigs,  in  which  Celtic,  Iberian, 
and  English  breeds  are  supposed  to  be  combined, 
have  big  heads  and  narrow  bodies.  Geese  are  abun- 
dant in  Alsace,  particularly  in  the  Rhenish  districts. 
Virtually  everybody  has  heard  of  Strasburg  pates  de 
foie  gras. 

There  are  half  a  dozen  salt  mines  in  the  Reichsland, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  21 

the  principal  being  those  of  Dieuze,  Chateau- Salins, 
and  Forbach.  The  annual  output  of  common  salt 
ranges  from  70,000  to  77,000  metric  tons,  valued  at  a 
trifle  less  than  £1  per  ton.  Sodium  sulphate  is  also 
worked  to  the  extent  of  about  8000  tons  per  annum. 
Alum  is  also  met  with.  Since  the  annexation  a  mine 
of  potassium  alkaline  has  been  found  in  Alsace,  and 
has  been  acquired  by  the  Prussian  Government.  It 
is  estimated  to  be  worth  several  millions  of  money. 
The  production  of  sulphuric  acid  and  other  chemicals 
is  very  considerable.  Petroleum  wells  exist  at  Lam- 
pertsloch,  Schwabwiller,  and  Pechelbronn,  but  their 
output  is  extremely  small. 

There  are  few  coal  and  iron  mines  in  Alsace.  The 
latter  are  much  more  numerous  in  the  annexed  part 
of  Lorraine.  Large  quantities  of  coal  and  ore  are 
imported,  but  the  statistics  for  1913  give — apparently 
as  the  Reichsland's  own  output — 21,136,265  metric 
tons  of  iron  ore  (valued  at  over  £2,736,000),  and 
3,795,932  tons  of  coal  (value  about  £2,256,000).  These 
figures  are  far  in  excess  of  those  for  1900,  when  the 
output  of  coal  was  stated  to  be  little  more  than  a 
million  tons,  whilst  the  iron  ore  did  not  amount  to 
quite  seven  millions.  It  is  possible  that  the  figures 
for  1913  include  imported  coal  and  iron.  Limestone 
and  gypsum  are  quarried  very  extensively,  and 
according  to  the  returns  for  1913  no  fewer  than 
38,500  persons  were  then  employed  in  the  mines  and 
quarries.  The  metallurgical  industries  predominate 
in  Lorraine.  There  are  important  forges  at  Ars-sur- 
Moselle.  In  Alsace  one  finds  several  works  for  the 
construction  of  machinery,  notably  at  Mulhouse, 
Guebwiller,  and  Thann. 

Paper  is  made  on  the  He  Napoleon  near  Mulhouse. 
Rixheim  specializes  in  wall-papers.  Faience  as  well 


22  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

as  other  pottery  is  produced  at  Sarreguemines,  Sierck, 
and  Niedwiller.  Glass  is  manufactured  in  the  vicinity 
of  Sarreguemines  and  Sarrebourg.  The  Munzthal 
crystal  works  take  the  first  rank.  Further,  the 
chemical  works  of  Bouxwiller  are  important.  One 
other  establishment  may  be  mentioned  before  passing 
to  the  textile  industries — that  is  the  famous  Piscicul- 
tural  School  of  Huninguen  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  in  Upper  Alsace.  Millions  of  salmon  fry  have 
been  provided  by  this  establishment — founded  under 
the  French  regime  in  1852 — for  the  rivers  of  Germany, 
France,  Sweden,  and  other  countries. 

Textiles  represent  in  importance  and  value  fully  a 
third  of  the  Reichsland  industries.  The  cotton  manu- 
factures are  the  most  important  in  the  whole  German 
Empire.  Virtually  all  the  cotton  goods  imported  by 
France  from  Germany  prior  to  the  Great  War  came 
from  Alsace,  and  represented,  on  an  average,  a  value 
of  about  £1,120,000  annually.  The  first  cotton- 
printing  works  to  be  established  at  Mulhouse  was 
founded  by  Samuel  Kcechlin  in  1746,  but  cotton- 
spinning  did  not  begin  in  Alsace  until  1810  (in  the 
midst  of  the  Napoleonic  wars)  when  mills  were  built 
at  Wesserling.  The  calico  produced  at  Mulhouse 
under  the  First  French  Empire  cost  from  three  to 
four  francs  per  metre ;  the  price  of  the  printed 
cottons  or  indiennes  being  from  six  to  seven  francs. 
These  printed  goods  became  famous  by  reason  of  the 
variety  and  tastefulness  of  their  patterns  and  the 
fastness  of  their  excellent  colours.  Establishments 
sprang  up  in  other  localities,  and  in  1828  the  Haut- 
Rhin  (otherwise  Upper  Alsace)  turned  out  19,500,000 
yards  of  these  textiles.  In  1870,  just  prior  to  the  war 
which  led  to  the  annexation,  the  output  was  nearly 
three  times  as  large.  In  1828  the  business  done  by 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  23 

the  cotton-spinners  represented  £600,000,  which  before 
the  annexation  became  £3,600,000  ;  whilst  the  printing 
trade  increased  from  £1,120,000  to  £2,000,000.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War  the  figures  were  very 
much  larger,  although  after  the  annexation  in  1871 
the  trade  suffered  severely — some  manufacturers  re- 
moving their  works  to  France,  and  others,  whilst 
retaining  their  Alsatian  establishments,  founding 
additional  ones  on  French  territory. 

One  of  the  descendants  of  the  Kcechlin  whom 
I  previously  mentioned  took  two  partners  named 
Schmalzer  and  Dollfus.  The  last-named  became  a 
distinguished  economist  and  did  much  to  improve  the 
circumstances  of  his  workmen.  In  1853  he  founded 
at  Mulhouse  a  Workers'  Dwelling  Society,  and  within 
the  next  twenty  years  a  thousand  houses  had  been 
erected,  and  for  the  most  part  completely  paid  for 
by  the  workmen  who  bought  them.  They  were  of 
various  styles  and  sizes,  and  far  superior  to  anything 
else  of  the  kind  which  then  existed  in  France.  The 
average  price  of  these  houses  (freehold)  was  £140, 
and  the  purchaser  was  required  to  pay  £10  down  and 
the  balance  by  instalments  in  fourteen  years.  Carried 
out  with  integrity  and  great  solicitude  for  the  workers, 
the  scheme  proved  so  successful  that  similar  societies 
were  established  at  Colmar  and  Guebwiller. 

The  Alsatian  woollen  manufactures  are  less  con- 
siderable than  the  cotton  ones,  but  there  are  woollen 
as  well  as  cotton  mills  at  Mulhouse,  which  with  its 
suburb  of  Dornach  had  a  population  of  105,488 
inhabitants  at  the  census  of  1910.  Different  kinds  of 
machinery  and  various  chemicals  are  made  there. 
Textiles  and  textile  machinery  are  also  produced  at 
Guebwiller.  Textiles  are  made  also  at  Colmar,  Tiirk- 
heim,  Winzenheim,  Miinster,  and  Logelbach.  Cloth  is 


24  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

bleached,  dyed,  and  finished  in  the  valley  of  the  Thur. 
Wesserling,  Cernay,  Thann,  Wilier,  Moosch,  and  Saint- 
Amarin  manufacture  yarn  and  cloth  as  well  as 
machines  and  chemicals.  In  the  valley  of  the 
Lieprette,  at  Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines  and  neighbouring 
localities,  cotton  and  woollen  mixtures  are  produced. 
Again,  there  are  textile  manufactures  at  Erstein  and 
Schlestadt ;  whilst  at  Massevaux  and  various  villages 
in  the  valley  of  the  Doller  the  manufacture  of  yarn 
and  cloth  is  supplemented  by  that  of  chemicals  and 
the  preparation  of  leather. 


II 

CITIES,  TOWNS,  AND  NOTED  SPOTS 

The  Divisions  of  Alsace-Lorraine  :  Strasburg  Old  and  New  :  The 
Cathedral  and  the  Squares  :  The  "  Marseillaise "  :  Mementoes  of 
French  Rule  :  Haguenau  and  some  Battlefields  :  Saverne  and  its 
Palace  :  Bouxwiller,  Marmoutier,  Wasselonne,  and  Molsheim  :  The 
Ban  de  la  Roche  and  Pastor  Oberlin  :  St.  Odilia,  Patroness  of  Alsace  : 
The  Pagan  Walls  :  Barr  and  Andlau  :  The  Legend  of  the  Empress 
Ricardis  :  Erstein  and  Schlestadt :  Upper  Alsace  :  Colmar  :  Ribeau- 
vil!6  and  the  King  of  the  Musicians  :  Sundry  small  Towns  :  Baths  for 
Lunatics  :  Marshal  Lefebvre  on  Ancestry  :  Guebwiller  and  its  Wine  : 
Ensisheim,  Thann,  and  Kleber  :  Little  Towns  in  the  Thur  Valley  : 
Democratic  Mulhouse  and  the  Chatterer's  Stone  :  Massevaux  and 
Catherine  the  Great  :  Altkirch  and  Ferrette  :  In  annexed  Lorraine  : 
Metz  Old  and  New  :  The  Kaiser  as  Daniel  :  Adjacent  Battlefields  : 
Thionville  :  The  Towns  on  the  Sarre  :  Forbach  and  Spicheren  : 
Niederbronn  and  its  Waters  :  Brave  Bitche  and  Phalsburg  :  Dieuze 
and  Chateau-Salins. 

IT  has  previously  been  mentioned  that  after  the  war 
of  1870-71  the  Germans  allowed  the  chief  administra- 
tive divisions  of  the  annexed  territory  to  remain 
much  as  they  had  been  under  the  French  rule,  that  is 
to  say,  the  authorities  of  the  new  Reichsland  consti- 
tuted three  Bezirke,  two  of  them  corresponding  with 
the  former  Alsatian  departments  of  the  Bas-Rhin  and 
the  Haut-Rhin — which,  indeed,  represented  in  essential 
respects  the  so-called  Nordgau  and  Sundgau  of  early 
times — and  the  third  embracing  the  annexed  parts  of 
the  Meurthe  and  Moselle  departments  of  Lorraine. 
Each  Bezirk  was  subdivided  into  several  so-called 
Kreise  or  circles,  suggestive  of  French  arrondissements, 
the  result  being  as  follows :  First  Bezirk :  Lower 
Alsace.  Capital :  Strasburg,  which  also  became  the 

25 


2(5  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

seat  of  government  for  the  whole  Reichsland. 
Kreise :  Strasburg  City  and  Strasburg  Country,  Wis- 
sembourg,  Haguenau,  Saverne,  Molsheirn,  Erstein, 
and  Schlestadt.  Second  Bezirk:  Upper  Alsace. 
Capital :  Colmar.  Kreise :  Colmar,  Ribeauville, 
Guebwiller,  Thann,  Mulhouse,  and  Altkirch.  Third 
Bezirk :  Lothringen  or  Lorraine.  Capital :  Metz. 
Kreise:  Metz  City  and  Metz  Country,  Thionville, 
Sarrebourg,  Chateau-Salins,  Boulay,  Sarreguemines, 
and  Forbach. 

Strasburg,  whose  population  increased  from  70,000 
to  84,000  between  1840  and  1870,  was  in  1910 — the 
year  of  the  last  census — a  city  of  179,000  inhabitants, 
rather  more  than  half  of  these  being  Catholics  and  the 
others  Protestants,  Freethinkers,  and  Jews,  the  last- 
named  numbering  some  5000.  It  would  have  been 
impossible  to  crowd  so  many  people  within  the  limits 
of  the  city's  former  fortifications,  designed  by  the 
famous  French  engineer  Vauban,  and  during  the 
earlier  years  of  the  annexation  these  defences,  with 
the  exception  of  the  southern  ramparts  and  the 
citadel,  were  demolished  by  the  Germans,  and  re- 
placed by  a  new  enceinte  which  doubled  the  city's 
perimeter,  most  of  the  land  thus  enclosed  within  the 
municipal  limits  lying  to  the  north  and  north-east  of 
ancient  Strasburg.  The  new  fortifications  were  pro- 
vided with  twelve  gates  ;  such  of  Vauban's  work, 
including  the  citadel,  that  was  allowed  to  remain, 
was  more  or  less  modernized,  and  fourteen  outlying 
detached  forts  were  erected,  eleven  of  them  being 
west  of  the  River  111  and  three  on  the  east.  The  111, 
forming  two  principal  and  various  smaller  arms,  inter- 
sects the  city.  Below  the  latter  it  is  joined  by  the 
Marne  to  Rhine  Canal,  and  above  it  by  the  Rhine  and 
Rhone  Canal,  as  well  as  by  a  tributary,  the  Bruch, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  27 

which  is  partially  canalized.  Further,  the  principal 
canals  are  united  by  a  subsidiary  canal  de  ceinture. 
The  Rhine,  into  which  the  111  flows,  is  about  two  and 
a  half  miles  distant  from  the  Place  Kleber  in  the 
central  part  of  old  Strasburg.  More  than  once,  in 
the  long  ago,  I  crossed  the  great  river — which,  in  its 
course  between  Germany  and  Alsace,  bears  almost 
countless  little  islands  upon  its  bosom — by  one  or 
another  of  the  bridges  conducting  to  the  town  of  Kehl 
in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 

The  new  part  of  Strasburg  is  full  of  public  edifices 
and  private  mansions  erected  by  the  Germans.  Here 
are  found  the  so-called  Imperial  Palace,  the  Palace  of 
the  Delegations,  the  German  University,  and  the 
great  central  railway  station.  Some  of  these  buildings 
are  not  displeasing  to  the  eye.  The  German  archi- 
tects adopted  the  style  of  the  French  Renaissance  for 
the  principal  university  building,  erected  between 
1878  and  1884,  and  that  of  the  Florentine  Renaissance 
for  the  Imperial  Palace  (1883-88).  At  the  railway 
station  an  attempt  is  made  to  impress  the  traveller 
with  a  sense  of  the  German  domination  by  means  of 
two  large  crude  frescoes — one  depicting  Frederick 
Barbarossa  entering  Haguenau  in  the  twelfth  century, 
and  the  other  the  present  Kaiser's  grandfather  entering 
Strasburg  in  1879. 

The  pomposity  of  the  new  German  town  contrasts 
strongly  with  the  picturesqueness  of  the  ancient  city, 
where  high-gabled  houses  line  narrow  streets  and 
cluster  round  little  squares,  whilst  from  the  centre  the 
spire  of  the  renowned  cathedral  rises  to  a  height  of 
almost  exactly  466  feet  above  the  pavement.*  It 

*  I  find  old  accounts  saying  474  feet,  but  this  may  have  been  a  miscal- 
culation, for  I  do  not  think  that  the  spire  was  shortened  during  the  many 
repairs  which  the  cathedral  underwent  after  the  fiendish  German  bombardment 
of  1870. 


28  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

thus  soars  to  an  altitude  of  132  feet  above  the  summit 
of  Saint  Paul's,  and  is  sixteen  feet  higher  than  the 
principal  Egyptian  Pyramid.  The  first  church  raised 
on  this  site  was  one  of  clay  and  timber  set  up  by  the 
Frankish  ruler  Clovis.  A  better  edifice  was  founded 
by  Charlemagne,  but  was  struck  by  lightning  early  in 
the  eleventh  century,  when  the  present  cathedral  was 
begun.  Thus  a  little  is  Romanesque  though  most  is 
of  the  ogival  style.  The  greater  part,  perhaps,  dates 
from  the  thirteenth  century,  but  only  in  the  fifteenth 
were  the  towers,  one  of  which  bears  the  famous  spire, 
erected.  Long  years  ago  I  climbed  to  the  lantern, 
thence  to  the  crown,  and  thence  to  the  rosette,  and 
looked  down  upon  the  old  faded  tiled  roofs  of  the  city, 
and  thence  over  the  wonderful  panorama  of  surround- 
ing country — the  Vosges  on  the  west,  the  Rhine  and 
the  Black  Forest  on  the  east.  Most  of  the  cathedral's 
beautiful  stained-glass  windows  were  shattered  by 
the  bombardment  of  1870 ;  much  of  the  general 
masonry  and  the  sculpture -work  which  were  de- 
stroyed or  defaced,  first  during  the  French  Revolution 
and  later  by  the  bombardment  I  have  mentioned, 
are  quite  modern,  as  is  also  the  roof,  which  the 
German  shells  perforated  in  many  places ;  but,  on 
the  whole,  the  work  of  restoration  has  been  well 
performed. 

One  of  the  cathedral's  curiosities  is  a  remarkable 
astronomical  clock,  the  present  mechanism  of  which 
dates  from  1838-42,  having  been  reconstructed  in 
order  to  replace  similar  works  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
which  after  nearly  250  years  of  service  absolutely 
refused  to  do  any  further  duty.  The  mechanism  sets 
quite  a  number  of  allegorical  figures  in  motion — such, 
for  instance,  as  Father  Time,  the  Four  Ages  of  Life, 
the  Seven  Days  of  the  Week?  the  Apostles  and  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  29 

Christ.  At  noon  every  day  the  twelve  Apostles  pass 
before  Christ,  bowing  to  Him  as  they  go,  whilst  He 
blesses  them  with  upraised  hand,  and  a  cock  crows 
thrice  and  claps  its  wings.  This  clock  luckily  escaped 
destruction  in  1870. 

Another  interesting  church  at  Strasburg  is  that 
dedicated  to  Saint  Thomas,  where  you  may  see  the 
masterpiece  of  the  great  French  sculptor  Pigalle — 
that  is,  the  mausoleum  of  Marshal  Saxe,  who,  German 
though  he  was,  entered  the  service  of  France  and 
gained  victories  for  her  at  Raucoux,  Lawfeld,  and 
Fontenoy.  Pigalle,  who  gave  five  and  twenty  years 
of  his  life  to  this  work,  portrayed  the  marshal  expiring 
serenely,  whilst  France,  personified  by  a  beautiful 
figure,  strove  to  detain  him  and  to  ward  off  the 
threatening  approach  of  death. 

The  largest  of  the  city's  squares  before  the  annexa- 
tion was  the  Place  Kleber,  where  stands  a  bronze 
statue  of  the  famous  general  of  that  name — a  native 
of  Strasburg,  son  of  a  stone-mason  there,  and  in  early 
life  an  architect — who  enlisted  in  the  armies  of  the 
first  French  Republic,  distinguished  himself  in  the 
siege  of  Mayence,  decided  the  defeat  of  the  Austrians 
at  Fleurus,  and  fought  against  us  in  Egypt,  where  he 
was  assassinated  in  the  year  1800.  As  the  sequel  of 
this  narrative  will  show,  Kleber  was  only  one  of  many 
Alsatians  who  became  glorious  in  the  service  of  the 
France  they  loved.  In  1838  his  remains  were  de- 
posited in  a  vault  under  his  statue,  and  they  still  lie 
there  to-day.  Another  of  the  city's  squares,  the 
Place  Gutenberg,  is  adorned  with  a  statue  of  the 
famous  printer,  who  worked  at  his  inventions  at 
Strasburg  before  perfecting  them  at  Mayence.  This 
fine  monument,  due  to  the  French  sculptor  David 
d' Angers,  depicts  Gutenberg  holding  a  "  proof  "  which 


30  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

he  has  just  taken  from  his  press,  and  which  bears  the 
words  :    "  And  there  was  light."  * 

In  the  sixteenth-century  building  where  the  Stras- 
burg  Chamber  of  Commerce  meets  another  interesting 
statue  may  be  found,  one  of  Alsace,  by  Bartholdi, 
the  Alsatian  sculptor  to  whom  France  owres  her  Lion 
of  Belfort  and  America  her  Liberty  lighting  the 
World.  Further,  in  a  garden  on  one  of  the  Rhine 
islands — the  He  des  Epis — a  couple  of  miles  south  of 
the  city,  there  is  a  monumental  cenotaph  to  the 
memory  of  the  valiant  Desaix,  who  defended  the 
passage  of  the  river  against  the  Austrians  in  1796, 
helped  Napoleon  to  gain  the  Battle  of  the  Pyramids 
in  1798,  and  two  years  later  fell  on  the  field  of 
Marengo  at  the  very  moment  when  victory  was  being 
achieved.  The  monument  on  the  He  des  Epis  bears  in 
French  the  inscription,  "  To  General  Desaix,  the  Army 
of  the  Rhine,  1801,"  and  is  adorned  with  bas-reliefs 
and  a  medallion  portrait  of  this  famous  French 
soldier.  The  Germans  have  done  their  best  to  dese- 
crate this  tribute  to  his  memory  by  capping  it  with 
an  abominable  helmet.  Fortunately  the  remains  of 
Desaix  do  not  lie  beneath  any  Teutonic  symbol. 
They  were  interred  on  the  Great  Saint-Bernard. 

No.  4  on  the  Place  de  Broglie  at  Strasburg — a 
square  laid  out  in  1740  by  the  French  Marshal  of  that 
name,  who  distinguished  himself  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War — is  quite  an  historic  house,  for  there  in  1792 
dwelt  Baron  Dietrich,  Mayor  of  Strasburg,  and  there 
in  Dietrich's  drawing-room,  towards  the  end  of  April 
that  year,  was  sung  for  the  first  time  that  immortal 
hymn  of  defiance,  the  "  Marseillaise,"  f  which  Rouget 
de  1'Isle,  then  a  young  officer  of  engineers,  composed 

*  "  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light." — Genesis,  i,  3- 

f  The  aged  Madame  Aimable  Tastu,  a  Lorrainer  by  birth  (she  came 

into  the  world  at  Metz  in  1798)  and  a  family  connexion  of  Rouget  de  1'Isle, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  31 

for  his  comrades  of  the  Army  of  the  Rhine,  and  which 
was  directed  essentially  against  the  Prussian  and 
Austrian  invaders  of  French  territory.  As  it  hap- 
pened, when  the  revolutionaries  of  Marseilles  marched 
on  Paris  they  appropriated  Rouget  de  1' Isle's  stirring 
words  and  notes,  which  had  been  carried  southward 
by  soldiers  sent  to  defend  Toulon  ;  and  as  they,  the 
Marseillais,  were  the  first  to  make  the  glorious  hymn 
known  in  the  capital,  the  Parisians  called  it  the 
1C  Marseillaise,"  a  name  it  has  ever  since  retained.  It 
was  dedicated  by  Rouget  de  1'Isle  to  the  septua- 
genarian Marshal  Luckner,  whom  the  Robespierrists 
guillotined  two  years  afterwards  for  lack  of  energy  in 
his  old  age. 

There  is  great  uncertainty  respecting  the  quarters 
which  De  1'Isle  occupied  at  Strasburg  when  he  com- 
posed the  "Marseillaise."  Claims  have  been  put 
forth  on  behalf  of  several  houses,  but  none  appears  to 
be  authentic.  Many,  however,  are  the  quaint  or 
interesting  dwellings  that  one  finds  in  the  old  city, 
some  of  them  dating  back  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  In  addition  to  the  mementoes  of  the 
French  rule  to  which  I  have  referred,  mention  may 
be  made  of  the  Promenade  de  Contades,  laid  out  by 
the  Marshal  Duke  of  that  name  in  1764,  and  of  the 
Orangery,  which  owes  its  origin  to  Napoleon's  first 
wife,  the  Empress  Josephine.  The  university,  re- 
established in  new  buildings  by  the  Germans,  sprang 
from  a  Protestant  school  founded  in  the  first  half  of 

whom  she  well  remembered  (he  died  at  Choisy-le-Roi,  near  Paris,  in  1830, 
when  seventy-six  years  old),  told  me  in  her  last  years  that  De  1'Isle  was 
composing  by  way  of  pastime  sundry  little  pastoral  and  love  pieces  when 
the  "  Marseillaise  "  suddenly  exploded  from  his  brain.  This  statement  is 
borne  out  by  an  early  edition  of  his  collected  verses,  which  are  mostly  dated, 
and  a  copy  of  which  exists  in  the  British  Museum  library.  Mme.  Tastu 
herself  wrote  some  very  fair  poetry,  but  was  best  known  by  her  many  work* 
in  prose  for  youthful  reeding.  She  died  in  1885. 


32  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  sixteenth  century.  About  a  hundred  years  later 
this  school  became  a  university,  and  in  1772  Goethe 
took  his  degree  as  Doctor  of  Laws  there.  The  Revo- 
lution suppressed  the  foundation,  but  under  the  last 
Bourbons  it  was  revived  as  an  Academic  royale.  I 
shall  refer  more  particularly  to  the  new  institutions 
when  dealing  in  another  chapter  with  the  efforts  to 
Germanize  Alsace  since  the  annexation.  As  for  the 
city's  public  library,  the  building  and  its  contents 
were  largely  destroyed  by  the  Germans  in  1870. 
Many  precious  manuscripts  and  incunabula  were  then 
annihilated — among  the  former  being  the  famous 
"  Hortus  Deliciarum "  of  the  Abbess  Herrade  of 
Hohenberg,  which  was  richly  decorated  with  illumina- 
tions and  miniatures  of  Byzantine  style.  As  with  the 
fathers,  so  with  the  sons,  as  witness  the  fate  of  the 
library  of  Lou  vain. 

I  have  written  at  some  length  respecting  Strasburg, 
because  it  is  the  capital  of  Alsace.  The  chief  towns 
of  the  other  Kreise  directly  attached  to  Strasburg 
under  the  German  administrative  system  may  be 
referred  to  more  briefly.  North  of  the  capital  city  is 
Haguenau,  a  town  of  nearly  19,000  inhabitants,  on 
the  Moder.  It  was  fortified  by  the  Emperor  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  and  there  is  a  story  that  our  Richard 
Cceur  de  Lion  appeared  there  before  a  gathering  of 
princes  while  he  was  a  prisoner  of  Frederick's  son  and 
successor,  Henry  the  Cruel,  to  whom  he  had  been 
handed  over  by  Leopold  of  Austria.  Haguenau's 
most  notable  building  is  the  church  of  Saint- George, 
dating  principally  from  the  thirteenth  century.  Pro- 
ceeding from  this  point  in  the  direction  of  Wissem- 
bourg  (Weissenburg),  whose  Kreis  or  circle  is  the  most 
northern  of  Lower  Alsace,  one  could  visit,  prior  to 
the  Great  War,  the  scenes  of  some  of  the  earliest 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  33 

encounters  between  the  French  and  Germans  in  1870. 
Here,  for  instance,  are  Worth,  Froeseh  wilier,  and 
Reichshoffen,  all  associated  with  the  unfortunate 
defeat  of  MacMahon's  army,  which  was  the  first  really 
severe  blow  that  France  received.  Reichshoffen, 
whose  name  recalls  the  famous  desperate  charge  of 
the  French  cuirassiers,*  is  the  largest  of  these  localities, 
having  3000  inhabitants,  whereas  Worth  (which  for 
us,  as  for  the  Germans,  has  given  its  name  to  the 
battle)  counts  but  1000,  and  Froeschwiiler  only  600. 
It  is,  however,  in  the  church  of  the  last-named  locality 
that  one  finds  the  chief  memorials  to  the  men  of  the 
contending  armies  who  fell  in  the  great  fight— an 
altar  of  black  marble  dedicated  to  the  French,  and 
one  of  red  sandstone  to  the  Germans. 

Wissembourg,  associated  with  the  earlier  defeat  of 
Abel  Douay  in  the  same  war,  stands  on  the  Lauter,  at 
the  extreme  northern  limit  of  Lower  Alsace.  It  is  a 
place  of  some  6800  souls,  and  possesses  a  fine  church, 
which  comprises  a  twelfth-century  Romanesque  tower, 
but  is  in  other  respects  an  example  of  early  Gothic. 
Here  in  1704-6  Marshal  Villars  established  some 
famous  lines  which  saved  this  part  of  France  from 
invasion. 

North-west  of  Strasburg  will  be  found  the  Kreis 
or  circle  of  Saverne,  called  Zabern  by  the  Germans. 
This  town — one  of  9000  people — was  the  Tres  Tabernae 
of  the  Roman  itineraries.  It  passed  in  the  course  of 
time  to  the  Duchy  of  Lorraine,  and  in  1525  was 
seized  by  a  multitude  of  rebellious  peasantry,  known 

*  The  charge  really  took  place  in  the  vicinity  of  Morsbronn,  which  is 
about  five  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  Reichshoffen.  A  monument  erected 
at  Morsbronn  in  1873  is  inscribed,  "  Aux  Cuirassiers  dits  de  Reichshoffen." 
At  Reichshoffen  itself  there  is  an  obelisk  to  the  memory  of  the  heroic  French 
troopers.  The  ironworks  of  this  town  were  first  established  by  Baron  Dietrich, 
to  whom  I  referred  in  connexion  with  the  "  Marseillaise."  See  p.  30,  ante. 

C 


34  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

as  the  Rustauds  or  Rustics.  Duke  Anthony  of 
Lorraine  having  besieged  them,  they  capitulated  on 
the  understanding  that  their  lives  should  be  spared 
provided  they  gave  up  their  weapons.  But  no  sooner 
was  this  effected  than  the  hireling  German  lansquenets 
in  the  Duke's  pay  attacked  them,  and  cut  thousands 
of  them  down  whilst  they  attempted  to  escape.  The 
Duke  himself  could  not  restrain  his  ferocious  soldiery. 
Later,  Saverne  (which  often  suffered  during  the 
Thirty  Years'  War)  passed  as  a  lordship  to  the  Bishops 
of  Strasburg,  who  retained  possession  until  the  French 
Revolution.  One  of  these  prelates,  Cardinal  Louis 
de  Rohan,  erected  here  a  considerable  part  of  an 
imposing  chateau  or  palace  with  monumental  facades 
and  beautiful  grounds.  The  work  was  carried  on  by 
his  successor,  the  notorious  Cardinal  Edouard  de 
Rohan,  who  was  duped  and  swindled  by  the  intriguing 
Countess  de  la  Motte  in  the  affair  of  the  famous 
Diamond  Necklace.  To-day  the  once  sumptuous 
palace  of  Saverne  is  but  a  German  barrack.  The 
town  stands  at  an  elevation  of  some  600  feet  above 
the  Zorn  and  the  Marne  and  Rhine  Canal,  on  the 
verge  of  the  Alsatian  Plain.  Behind  it  rise  some  fine 
wooded  heights,  and  by  reason  of  its  beautiful  situa- 
tion Saverne  was  the  favourite  place  of  sojourn  of 
that  well-known  writer,  Edmond  About,  who  was  by 
birth  a  Lorrainer.  Comprised  within  the  Kreis  of 
Saverne  is  the  town  of  Bouxwiller  (Buchsweiler), 
which  is  situated  just  under  the  Bassberg,  one  of 
the  heights  of  the  Lower  Vosges.  The  little  place 
derives  some  importance  from  the  sulphate  of 
iron  and  lignite  deposits  which  are  worked  in  its 
vicinity. 

Skirting  the  Vosges  southward  from  Saverne,  one 
passes  Marmoutier  (Germanized  as  Maursmiinster),  a 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  35 

town  of  3600  people,  deriving  its  name  from  an  abbey 
which,  founded  originally  by  a  disciple  of  the  Irish 
Saint  Colomban,  subsequently  pertained  to  the  Con- 
gregation de  Saint-Maur.  Farther  southward  is 
Wasselonne  (now  Wasselnheim),  a  locality  of  much 
the  same  size,  with  several  quarries  whence  the  stone 
for  building  Strasburg  Cathedral  was  extracted.  Yet 
more  to  the  south  and  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Bruch, 
between  the  Alsatian  vine  slopes  and  the  plain,  stands 
Molsheim,  a  picturesque  place  of  3000  souls  with 
a  fourteenth-  to  sixteenth-century  church,  and  a 
charming  old  town  hall  faced  by  a  square  where 
stands  an  obelisk  bearing  in  French  the  inscription  : 
"To  the  Children  of  the  Town  who  died  for 
the  Country,  1870-71."  *  One  needs  no  further 
evidence  that  the  folk  of  Molsheim  were  attached 
to  France. 

On  ascending  the  Bruch  towards  its  source  in  the 
Vosges  there  will  be  found  a  picturesque  and  interest- 
ing little  region  known  as  the  Ban  de  la  Roche  or 
Steintal,  the  former  name  being  derived  from  an 
ancient  castle  called  the  Chateau  de  la  Roche.  This 
district  was  desolated  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
and  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  inhabitants  of  its 
eight  poor  villages  or  hamlets  were  plunged  in  the 
greatest  ignorance  and  deepest  misery.  In  1767, 
however,  a  Protestant  pastor  named  Jean  Frederic 
Oberlin,  a  native  of  Strasburg  and  the  younger  brother 
of  a  distinguished  Alsatian  philosopher  and  scholar 
(Jeremie  Jacques  Oberlin),  was  appointed  minister 
at  the  village  of  Waldersbach  in  the  Roche  region. 
Distressed  by  the  sight  of  so  much  misery — one 
knows  how  terrible  was  the  condition  of  the  peasantry 
throughout  France  during  the  last  years  of  the  old 

*  "  Aux  Enfants  de  la  Ville  morts  pour  la  Patrie." 


36  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

regime — Oberlin  set  himself  to  work  to  remedy  it. 
Assisted  by  his  wife,  his  sons,  his  daughters,  and  a 
dependent,  who  was  really  more  a  friend  than  a 
servant,  he  helped  the  peasants  to  make  roads, 
bridged  the  Bruch  between  Foil  day  and  Rothau  with 
his  own  hands,  opened  schools,  gave  instruction  in 
weaving,  procured  fruit-trees  and  potatoes  for  plant- 
ing, in  fact  raised  the  inhabitants  to  a  degree  of 
cheerful  comfort  such  as  had  never  previously  been 
known  to  them,  nor,  indeed,  to  their  fathers  either. 
Oberlin  died  in  1826,  being  then  eighty-six  years  old. 
In  the  churchyard  at  Fouday  (now  called  Urbach  by 
the  Germans)  there  is  a  stone  bearing  his  name,  and, 
in  French,  the  words :  "  He  was  for  Sixty  Years  the 
Father  of  this  Canton.  The  Memory  of  the  Righteous 
shall  be  Blessed."  According  to  some  accounts 
Oberlin's  remains  are  not  buried  here,  but  rest  beside 
those  of  his  wife  at  Waldersbach,  where  he  had  his 
parsonage,  and  where,  we  believe,  many  mementoes 
of  this  most  worthy  man  are  still  preserved. 

From  the  Ban  de  la  Roche  another  interesting  spot 
may  be  reached,  the  Hohwald  and  the  famous  con- 
vent of  Saint  Odilia,  who  is  regarded  as  the  Patroness 
of  Alsace.  She  was '  the  daughter  of  the  seventh- 
century  Alsatian  Duke  Adalric  the  Cruel,  and  was 
born  blind,  for  which  reason  her  father  would  have 
had  her  killed  had  not  her  nurse  fled  with  her  to  a 
Burgundian  convent.  There,  according  to  the  legend, 
on  being  baptized,  the  sense  of  sight  was  miraculously 
bestowed  on  her.  Her  unnatural  father  repented, 
and  in  course  of  time,  finding  her  unwilling  to  marry, 
gave  her  the  Castle  of  Hohenburg  in  order  that  she 
might  transform  it  into  a  convent.  The  spot  is 
famous  throughout  Alsace,  and  is  the  scene  every 
Whitsuntide  of  a  great  Catholic  pilgrimage.  The 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  37 

scenery,  with  its  crags  and  forests,  is  very  striking. 
There  is  a  spring  whither  people  repair  when  they  are 
afflicted  with  complaints  of  the  eyesight,  and  in  the 
vicinity  one  finds  some  remains  of  a  so-called  Heiden- 
mauer  or  Pagans'  Wall,  composed  of  unhewn  stones 
heaped  together  without  cement,  the  whole  averag- 
ing from  eight  to  ten  feet  in  height.  Similar  walls  are 
found  on  the  Taennichel,  Frankenburg,  Guerbaden, 
Ochsen stein,  and  Heiligenberg  heights.  Some  writers 
have  claimed  that  these  structures  date  from  abso- 
lutely prehistoric  times,  others  have  ascribed  them  to 
the  Gauls  or  the  Romans.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  they  existed  prior  to  the  Roman  dominion  and 
were  raised  by  the  native  Celts  as  barriers  against  the 
Germanic  hordes  which  repeatedly  poured  across  the 
Rhine,  bent,  like  their  descendants  of  to-day,  upon 
overrunning  Gaul.  In  some  instances  the  more  or 
less  circular  character  of  the  structures  indicates  that 
they  formed  camps  of  refuge  from  the  invaders. 
The  Romans,  doubtless,  made  use  of  them  after  Julius 
Caesar  had  vanquished  the  Swabian  Germans  of 
Ariovistus,  and  Alsace  came  under  the  protecting 
Roman  rule. 

In  normal  times  the  town  of  Barr — which  is  not 
far  from  Saint  Odilia's  convent,  and  where  there  are 
some  mineral  springs — used  to  be  extensively  patron- 
ized for  the  excursions  which  may  be  made  from  it, 
not  only  to  Sainte-Odile,  but  to  other  interesting  spots, 
such  as  the  castle  and  the  town  of  Andlau,  associated 
with  the  counts  of  that  name.  The  last  member  of 
this  family  that  we  ever  heard  of  was  General  Count 
d'Andlau,  a  Senator  of  France,  who,  after  powerfully 
contributing  to  expose  the  conduct  of  Marshal  Bazaine 
at  Metz,  became  implicated,  unhappily,  in  a  great 
scandal  respecting  the  sale  of  the  Legion  of  Honour 


38  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

in  President  Grevy's  time,  and  thereupon  fled  to 
South  America.  Barr  is  associated  with  a  singular 
legend  respecting  Ricardis,  the  repudiated  wife  of 
Charles  the  Fat,  Emperor  of  Germany  and  Italy,  and 
King  of  France.  Ricardis,  it  is  said,*  was  entreating 
Heaven  to  designate  to  her  some  suitable  place  of 
asylum  when  an  angel  appeared  and  told  her  to 
select  a  spot  where  she  would  see  something  remark- 
able. Soon  afterwards,  in  her  wanderings,  she  per- 
ceived a  she-bear  who,  with  the  help  of  her  cubs,  was 
scratching  the  ground  and  throwing  up  a  kind  of 
enceinte.  Ricardis  took  this  as  a  sign  from  Heaven, 
and  founded  a  famous  abbey  on  the  spot.  I  have 
given  this  legend,  as  I  gave  that  of  Saint  Odilia, 
simply  by  way  of  exemplifying  the  many  curious  ones 
which  are  current  in  Alsace. 

East  of  the  region  at  which  I  have  just  glanced, 
and  on  the  River  111,  south  of  Strasburg,  will  be 
found  the  old  fortified  town  of  Erstein  (6000  inhabi- 
tants) which  is  the  centre  of  another  Kreis  of  Lower 
Alsace.  Yet  another  is  that  of  Schlestadt  (Schlett- 
stadt),  a  town  situated  still  more  to  the  south  and  not 
far  from  the  111.  Very  ancient,  the  residence  of  some 
of  the  Frankish  kings,  and  possessing  in  its  church  of 
Sainte-Foi  (Saint  Fides)  one  of  the  finest  Romanesque 
fanes  in  the  Reichsland,  Schlestadt  ranked  under  the 
French  as  a  fourth- class  fortress,  but  was  dismantled 
by  the  Germans  in  1872.  At  the  last  census  the 
town  had  a  population  of  10,600. 

We  now  enter  the  Bezirk  of  Upper  Alsace,  whose 
chief  town  is  Colmar.  Situated  in  the  Alsatian  Plain, 

*  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Count  of  Nordgau,  and  was  accused  of  adultery 
with  a  Lord  of  Verceil,  against  which  charge  she  protested.  She  married 
Charles  in  877  and  was  afterwards  crowned  with  him  at  Rome  by  Pope 
John  VIII.  She  died  in  911  at  the  Alsatian  monastery  which  she  had 
founded. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  39 

it  is  watered  by  the  Ill's  tributary,  the  Lauch,  and  the 
Logelbach  Canal  coming  from  the  Fecht.  An  arti- 
ficial waterway  also  connects  it  with  the  Rhone  and 
Rhine  Canal.  The  central  part  of  Colmar  is  a  typical 
old  Alsatian  town  with  irregular  streets,  wooden 
bridges  over  the  Logelbach,  and  houses  of  far-away 
days,  sometimes  with  painted  fronts,  sometimes  with 
ornate  gables,  sometimes  yet  more  elaborate  in  the 
Renaissance  style,  the  whole  contrasting  strongly 
with  what  may  be  seen  in  the  modern  outskirts.  In 
a  word,  there  is  much  to  interest  the  antiquarian  and 
the  artist  in  the  older  part  of  Colmar.  Bartholdi,  the 
sculptor,*  was  a  native  of  the  town,  which  displays 
with  pride  several  examples  of  his  work — among 
others  a  statue  of  Jean  Rapp,  Napoleon's  valiant 
general  who,  being  besieged  in  Dantzig,  defended 
it  for  a  whole  year — in  fact,  to  the  last  extremity; 
secondly,  a  statue  of  Admiral  Bruat,  who  commanded 
the  French  Black  Sea  fleet  in  the  Crimean  War. 
Both  of  these,  like  Bartholdi  himself,  belonged  to 
Colmar.  Another  example  of  the  great  sculptor's 
powers  will  be  found  in  the  cemetery.  It  is  a  monu- 
ment to  the  Colmarians  who  fell  while  fighting  the 
Germans  at  the  engagement  of  Horburg  on  September 
14,  1870. 

France  first  acquired  Colmar  from  the  Swedes  at 
the  time  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  but  the  union 
severed  in  1871  may  be  said  to  have  dated  more 
precisely  from  January  1675,  when  Turenrie,  after 
crossing  the  snowbound  Vosges,  routed  the  Germans 
on  the  plain  between  Colmar  and  Tiirkheim  and  threw 
them  out  of  Alsace.  The  Alsatian  Sovereign  Council, 
which  under  the  sway  of  the  Hapsburgs  had  been 
accustomed  to  meet  at  Ensisheim,  then  removed  to 

*  See  p.  30,  ante. 


40  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Colmar.  Since  1871  the  Germans  have  made  the 
little  city  the  seat  of  the  Alsatian  Oberlandesgericht 
or  Supreme  Court.  At  the  census  of  1910  Colmar 
counted  nearly  44,000  inhabitants. 

Ribeauville,  the  centre  of  the  most  northern 
Colmarian  circle,  and  called  Rappoltsweiler  by  the 
Germans,  is  very  picturesquely  situated  below  some 
spurs  of  the  Vosges  where  several  old  castles  may  be 
seen,  and  where  some  of  the  best  wine  of  Alsace  is 
vintaged.  The  town,  now  one  of  6000  souls,  pertained 
anciently  to  the  Lords  of  Ribeaupierre  (Rappoltstein), 
who  were  accounted  kings  of  all  itinerant  musicians 
and  minstrels.  There  is  an  ancient  house  at  Ribeau- 
ville where  the  corporation  of  these  tuneful  wanderers 
was  wont  to  assemble,  particularly  on  Pipers'  Day, 
September  8.  When  the  last  Lord  of  Ribeaupierre 
and  Ribeauville  died,  Louis  XIV  bestowed  the  seignory 
on  a  Duke  of  Zwei-Brucken-Birkenfeld,  who  was  a 
general  in  his  service.  At  the  same  time  this  duke 
belonged  to  the  House  of  Bavaria  (Zwei-Briicken  is 
in  the  Rhenish  Palatinate),  and  from  him  the  present 
Bavarian  king  is  descended.  The  action  of  Louis  XIV 
in  bestowing  an  Alsatian  lordship  on  a  foreigner 
added  yet  another  and  a  quite  uncalled-for  complica- 
tion to  the  many  in  which  Alsatian  history  was  then 
already  entangled. 

Not  far  from  Ribeauville,  but  more  among  the 
Vosges,  is  a  little  place  long  known  as  La  Poultroie 
but  rechristened  Schmerlach  by  the  Germans,  who  in 
like  fashion  have  given  the  name  of  Diedolshausen  to 
the  village  of  Le  Bonhomme  near  the  Vosgian  pass  of 
that  name.  In  the  same  way  Orbey,  in  the  Ribeau- 
ville (or  Rappoltsweiler)  Kreis,  has  become  Urbeis.  It 
is  a  place  of  4500  souls,  and  possesses  some  silk  and 
cotton  mills.  Near  it  in  the  mountains  are  two 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  41 

lonely   sheets   of  water   known   respectively   as   the 
White  and  the  Black  Lakes. 

Munster,  a  manufacturing  town  of  6000  souls,  but 
noted  more  particularly,  as  was  mentioned  in  my  first 
chapter,  for  its  odoriferous  cheese,*  stands  in  the 
narrow  valley  of  the  Fecht,  not  far  from  the  Schlucht 
Pass  of  the  Vosges,  and  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Colmar.  In  the  Munster  Valley,  but  nearer  Colmar, 
is  Soultz  (Sulzbad,  4800  inhabitants),  noted  for  its 
acidulous  mineral  waters,  which  in  French  days  were 
often  called  the  baths  for  lunatics  (bains  des  fous)  as 
they  were  held  to  be  beneficial  in  restoring  the  mind 
to  equilibrium,  particularly  in  cases  of  hysteria, 
hypochondria,  and  so  forth.  On  the  south-east  of 
Colmar,  beside  the  Rhone  and  Rhine  Canal,  and  a 
couple  of  miles  or  so  from  the  last-named  river,  stands 
Neuf-Brisach  (Neu  Breisach),  built  in  Louis  XIV's 
time  by  Vauban  as  a  means  of  keeping  the  predatory 
Germans  on  their  own  side  of  the  Rhenish  waters.  In 
this  same  part  of  Upper  Alsace  will  be  found  a  little 
place  called  Eguisheim,  which  prides  itself  less  on  its 
conspicuous  towered  castle  than  on  the  fact  that  no 
less  a  personage  than  a  Pope  was  born  there — this 
being  Leo  IX,  who  occupied  the  chair  of  St.  Peter 
from  1048  to  1054.  It  was  at  the  time  of  this  Alsatian 
Pontiff  that  the  severance  of  the  Greek  and  the 
Latin  Churches  was  finally  consummated.  Ruffach 
(3800  inhabitants),  midway  between  Munster  and 
Neuf-Brisach,  gave  birth  to  another  notable  character, 
Marshal  Lefebvre,  Duke  of  Dantzig,  the  blunt  gallant 
fellow  who  married  his  washerwoman,  styled 
"  Madame  Sans-Gene  "  by  playwrights,  though  the 
real  Sans-Gene  happens  to  have  been  quite  a  different 
person.  It  was  Lefebvre  who,  when  a  Prussian 

*  See  p.  20,  ante. 


42  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

officer  of  the  Junker  strain  sneered  at  Napoleon's 
commanders,  asking  who  were  their  ancestors,  retorted 
with  well- justified  pride  :  "  Ancestors  ?  We  are  our 
own  ancestors  !  " 

Gueb wilier  (Gebweiler)  lies  south  of  Ruffach,  and 
is  a  busy  town  of  13,000  people  engaged  chiefly  in  one 
or  another  branch  of  the  textile  industries,  though 
some  are  concerned  in  viticulture,  the  produce  of  the 
neighbouring  vineyards,  notably  the  wine  known  as 
Kitterle,  being  very  good  growths.  There  are  some 
interesting  ancient  churches  here,  and  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Ballon  de  Guebwiller,  the  highest  mountain 
in  the  Vosges,  and  near  the  Bussang  Pass,  one  finds, 
in  the  valley  of  Saint- Amarin,  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey 
of  Murbach,  dating  from  Charlemagne's  time.  Ensis- 
heim,  to  which  I  previously  referred,*  stands  on  the 
111  and  the  Bale  to  Strasburg  railway  line,  but,  though 
it  was  once  the  capital  of  the  Alsatian  possessions  of 
the  Hapsburgs  and  still  displays  an  imposing  town 
hall  and  several  other  Renaissance  edifices,  it  is  now 
decayed,  and  counts  only  2500  inhabitants. 

Thann,  occupied  by  the  French  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  Great  War  and  still  held  by  them  at  the  time 
I  write — as  I  hope  will  be  permanently  the  case — 
ranked  under  the  Germans  as  the  centre  of  a  Kreis 
of  Upper  Alsace.  Inhabited  before  the  war  by  some 
7500  people,  it  is  placed  in  the  valley  of  the  River 
Thur,  among  the  Vosgian  spurs,  and  is  overlooked  by 
the  ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Engelburg,  which  Turenne 
blew  up  in  1674,  when  the  upper  part  of  one  of  the 
towers  fell  in  a  solid  mass,  and  lies  below  the  other 
ruins  like  a  huge  barrel  staved  in  at  both  ends,  in 
such  wise  that  you  may  look  through  it  as  through 
a  telescope.  The  good  folk  of  Thann  call  it  "  the 

*  See  p.  39,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  43 

sorceress's  eye."  The  town,  which  existed  already  in 
the  tenth  century,  contains  a  fine  ogival  church,  sculp- 
tured profusely.  The  chief  portal  is*  particularly 
remarkable  for  its  statues  and  carvings  depicting 
the  story  of  Jesus  and  the  Virgin,  and  there  is  a 
fine  spire  of  delicate  open  work  rising  to  a  height  of 
300  feet.  Two  towers  of  the  old  fortifications  of 
Thann  still  remain,  and  the  town  hall  is  interesting, 
for  it  was  designed  by  General  Kleber,  who  also 
superintended  the  building  work,  he  being  at  the 
time  "  architect  of  civil  edifices  "  in  Upper  Alsace. 
Before  the  present  war  Thann  was  noted  for  its 
printed  textiles,  and  particularly  its  chemical  pro- 
ducts. On  the  north-west  is  the  bourg  of  Wesserling 
(Hiisseren),  also  a  little  industrial  locality,  and  in 
peaceful  times  a  centre  for  various  excursions  among 
the  mountains  above  the  Thur  Valley.  Wesserling 
itself  is  of  interest,  as  it  is  built  round  a  castle-capped 
moraine  of  blocks  of  stone  and  gravel  that  fell  from 
a  glacier  at  some  far-away  period.  Cernay  (Sennheim), 
an  old  and  formerly  fortified  town,  now  engaged  in 
the  textile  industries,  lies  slightly  south-west  of  Thann 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Thur  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Vosges.  Between  it  and  Guebwiller  on  the  north 
rises  the  famous  Hartmannsweiler  Peak.f 

From  Cernay  one  may  reach  Mulhouse  (Mtilhausen), 
of  whose  industries  some  account  was  given  in  the 
previous  chapter.  J  Although,  combined  with  its 
industrial  suburb  Dornach,  it  is,  in  regard  to  popula- 
tion, the  second  city  of  Alsace  (105,500  inhabitants), 
and  at  the  same  time  the  largest  manufacturing  centre 
in  the  whole  Reichsland,  it  yields  administratively 

*  I  don't  know  whether  the  church  has  suffered  during  the  present  war. 
Possibly  instead  of  "  is  "  I  ought  to  have  written  "  was." 

f  See  p.  15,  ante.  J   See  p.  22  ante. 


44  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

the  pas  to  Colmar.  It  came  at  an  early  date  under 
the  sway  of  the  Bishops  of  Strasburg,  and  later  under 
that  of  the  Hapsburgs,  but  joined  the  Decapole 
League  in  the  thirteenth  century,  drove  out  all  nobles, 
and  became  a  free  democratic  city  allied  with  the 
Swiss  of  Basle,  Soleure,  and  Berne  already  in  1466. 
Mulhouse  was  never  conquered  by  the  French.  At 
the  peace  of  Westphalia  it  was  included  among  the 
Swiss  cantons,  but  in  1798  it  quitted  the  Confedera- 
tion and  gave  itself  voluntarily  to  France.  Watered 
by  the  111  and  the  Rhone  and  Rhine  Canal,  on  which 
there  is  a  port,  the  town  spreads  out  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  great  Alsatian  plain.  Its  prosperity  even 
in  the  days  of  French  rule  testified  to  the  energy  and 
industry  of  its  democratic  citizens,  for  the  raw  cotton 
for  its  manufactures  had  to  be  conveyed  all  the  way 
from  Havre  and  Marseilles,  whilst  the  coals  it  needed 
were  brought  chiefly  by  canal  from  Saint-Etienne  and 
Rive-de-Gier,  in  the  southern  part  of  France. 

The  museum  contains  some  good  paintings  and 
objects  of  archaeological  interest,  but  the  only  old 
edifice  of  real  account  is  the  town  hall,  which  was 
built  in  1552  and  combines  features  of  the  Gothic 
and  the  Renaissance  styles.  Inside  there  are  some 
curious  mural  paintings  by  a  sixteenth-century  Colmar 
artist,  and  the  council  chamber  has  some  windows  of 
stained  glass,  recalling  Mulhouse's  alliances  with  the 
Swiss  cantons  and  France.  On  the  south-west  front 
used  to  hang  a  stone  carved  so  as  to  represent  a 
human  head  and  known  as  the  Klapperstein  or  Pierre 
des  Bavards,  otherwise  the  Chatterers'  Stone.  Folk 
who  were  convicted  of  slander  or  picking  quarrels 
were  compelled  to  carry  this  stone,  hanging  from 
their  necks,  round  the  town  on  the  market  or  fair 
day  following  their  sentence.  This  punishment  for 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  45 

unbridled  loquacity  was  last  inflicted  on  February  28, 
1781. 

Due  west  of  Mulhouse,  but  in  the  Vosges  near  the 
French  frontier,  and  separated  by  only  a  few  heights 
from  Thann,  is  Massevaux,  otherwise  Masmiinstex, 
a  town  of  between  three  and  four  thousand  people, 
which  owes  its  name  to  a  conventual  establishment 
founded  in  720  by  a  certain  Mason  who  was  related  to 
Saint  Odilia.  It  is  called  Coenobium  Masonvillae  in 
ancient  deeds,  and  a  list  of  its  abbesses  from  its 
foundation  until  1790  is  extant.  Occupied  at  one 
time  by  Benedictine  nuns  it  eventually  became  a 
Chapter  of  Noble  Dames,  and  there  it  was  that 
Catherine  of  Anhalt-Zerbst,  afterwards  famous  as 
Catherine  the  Great  and  the  "  Semiramis  of  the 
North,"  received  her  education.  Her  career  seems  to 
indicate  that  whatever  accomplishments  she  may 
have  acquired  among  the  noble  dames  of  Massevaux, 
no  principles  of  morality  were  instilled  into  her. 

South-west  of  Mulhouse  and  on  the  way  towards 
Belfort,  Altkirch,  the  centre  of  the  southernmost 
Kreis  of  Upper  Alsace,  rises  in  terraced  fashion  on 
an  eminence  above  the  right  bank  of  the  111.  Mulhouse 
is  generally  accounted  the  capital  of  the  so-called 
Sundgau  of  Alsace,  but  in  former  times  the  term 
applied  more  exactly  to  Altkirch — that  is,  after  its 
southern  neighbour  Ferrette  or  Pfirt  had  declined. 
Nowadays,  however,  Altkirch  has  barely  3500  inhabi- 
tants. Its  castle,  where  the  archdukes  of  Austria 
generally  resided  when  they  visited  their  Alsatian 
possessions,  has  long  been  in  ruins.  The  one  existing 
building  of  Altkirch  that  presents  features  of  interest 
is  its  old  court  of  justice.  The  town  is  noted  for  the 
fine  glazed  red  bricks  made  in  its  vicinity. 

Ferrette    (Ferreta   and   Phirretum    in    old    Latin 


40  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

deeds)  stands  on  a  northern  spur  of  the  Jura  Moun- 
tains, which  hereabouts  form  the  frontier  of  Alsace 
and  Switzerland.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of 
it  more  particularly  in  my  next  chapter  in  connexion 
with  the  early  history  of  Alsace.  Here  it  need  only 
be  said  that  Ferrette,  after  serving  as  a  Roman  post 
of  observation,  was  ruled  for  some  centuries  by  a  line 
of  independent  counts  springing  from  the  house  of 
Montbeliard,  who  acquired  several  other  towns  and 
lordships  in  this  part  of  Alsace.  In  1324  these 
possessions  were  conveyed  by  their  heiress,  Joan,  to  a 
member  of  the  house  of  Austria  whom  she  married. 
At  a  subsequent  date  they  were  mortgaged  to  Charles 
the  Rash  of  Burgundy,  but  reverted  to  the  Hapsburgs 
when  Charles's  only  child  and  heiress,  Marie,  married 
the  Emperor  Maximilian  I.  Finally  they  were  ceded 
to  France,  with  virtually  all  the  Sundgau  and  Upper 
Alsace,  by  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  otherwise 
Munster  (1648),  which  was  confirmed  eleven  years 
later  by  the  Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees. 

We  have  now  reached  the  southern  limits  of  Alsace, 
and  must  retrace  our  steps  northward  in  order  to 
glance  at  the  other  division  of  the  Reichsland,  the 
north-eastern  part  of  Lorraine  which  the  Germans 
annexed  in  1871.  The  famous  fortified  city  of  Metz 
is  its  capital,  subordinate,  however,  to  Strasburg.  In 
ancient  days  Metz  was  the  chief  town  of  the  Gallic 
tribe  of  the  Mediomatrici,  and  was  known  for  a  time 
as  Divodurum.  However,  the  Romans  themselves 
subsequently  called  the  place  Metis  and  Metlis,  after 
its  original  inhabitants.  Already  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury of  our  era  Metz  was  a  bishop's  see,  and  between 
511  and  843  it  became  the  capital  of  the  Frankish 
kingdom  of  Austrasia  (Eastern  Gaul)  where  the  Carlo- 
vingian  dynasty  arose.  At  the  partition  of  Charle- 


I 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  47 

magne's  empire  (Verdun,  843)  a  kingdom  was  formed 
in  favour  of  his  great-grandson,  Lothair  II,  whose 
father,  Lothair  I,  sometime  "  Emperor  of  the  West," 
had  been  vanquished  at  Fontenoy  by  his  brothers, 
Charles  the  Bald  and  Louis,  otherwise  Ludwig,  the 
Germanic.  The  new  kingdom  was  called  Lotharingia 
after  its  sovereign,  this  being  the  only  example  of  the 
kind  known  in  French  history,  other  regions  having 
derived  their  names  from  the  folk  who  dwelt  in  them, 
as  witness  Brittany,  Burgundy,  Normandy,  Gascony, 
and  Auvergne ;  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Champagne, 
Alsace,  and  the  Ile-de-France,  from  physical  circum- 
stances ;  or,  again,  from  the  presence  of  some  city  in 
their  midst,  as  is  shown  by  Touraine  (Tours),  Anjou 
(Angers),  Forez  (Feurs).  Dauphine  certainly  took  its 
appellation  from  the  title  of  its  rulers,  but  only 
Lorraine's  came  from  an  individual. 

Metz  afterwards  passed  to  sundry  German  rulers, 
but  at  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Otho  II  (tenth  century) 
it  became  a  free  city  of  the  Empire  under  its  bishop. 
Although  it  was  situated  in  Lorraine,  its  bishops,  who 
were  Princes  of  the  Empire,  never  did  homage  to  the 
Dukes  of  Lorraine,  the  situation  being  the  same  at 
Verdun  and  Toul,  whose  prelates  also  enjoyed  a 
quasi-independence,  being  subject  only  to  the  Diet 
of  the  so-called  Holy  Roman  Empire — an  institution 
which  differed  greatly  from  the  German  Empire  of 
to-day.  At  last  in  1552  the  Three  Bishoprics  of 
Lorraine  were  annexed  by  Henri  II,  son  of  Francis  I 
of  France,  and  although  365  years  have  elapsed  since 
then  Toul  and  Verdun  have  never  since  been  torn 
from  French  territory.  Nor  was  Metz  wrung  from 
France  until  1871,  when  she  had  belonged  to  her  for 
more  than  three  centuries.  It  is  true  that  the 
Emperor  Charles  V  was  extremely  wrathful  when  he 


48  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

heard  of  what  Henri  II  had  done,  and  that  he  besieged 
Metz  with  an  army  of  100,000  men.  But  the  defence 
had  been  entrusted  to  the  young  and  famous  Fran£ois 
de  Guise,  who,  six  years  later,  to  the  great  chagrin  of 
our  first  Mary,  recovered  Calais  for  the  French  crown. 
Guise,  who  belonged  to  the  ducal  house  of  Lorraine, 
inspired  the  burghers  of  Metz  with  confidence  and 
energy,  and  after  efforts  of  two  months'  duration  the 
Emperor,  having  lost  30,000  of  his  men,  was  obliged 
to  raise  the  siege.  "  Fortune  is  a  woman,"  said  he 
bitterly,  "  she  favours  only  the  young !  " 

Metz  stands  at  the  confluence  of  the  Seille  and  the 
Moselle,  which  here  throws  out  several  arms.  At  the 
census  of  1910  the  city  had  a  population  of  over 
79,000.  It  has  changed  greatly  since  the  fateful 
months  of  1870  when  Marshal  Bazaine  was  invested 
within  its  lines  and,  wrhen  listening  to  the  voice  of  his 
personal  ambition,  he  "  failed,"  as  the  judgment 
pronounced  upon  him  recorded,  "to  do  what  duty 
and  honour  required."  Beguiled  by  Prince  Frederick 
Charles  of  Prussia  and  Bismarck,  he  ended  by 
capitulating  without  having  made  a  single  really 
strenuous  effort  to  break  through  the  German  lines. 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  him  again.  Here  it 
is  merely  en  passant  that  I  allude  to  his  guilt.  Metz, 
I  have  said,  has  greatly  altered  since  his  time.  Its 
inner  walls  are  now  demolished,  and  new  quarters 
have  sprung  up,  extending  on  the  east  beyond  the 
Seille  to  Plantieres  and  Queuleu,  and  on  the  south  to 
Montigny  and  Sablons.  Further,  many  new  buildings 
have  been  erected  in  the  older  part  of  the  city,  though 
this  still  retains  a  number  of  interesting  houses, 
including  some  which  date  from  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. The  outskirts  are  studded  with  new  German 
forts,  some  of  which  are  six  miles  or  so  from  the  city 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  49 

limits.  Many  of  these  forts  are  named  after  German 
princes  and  commanders.  For  instance,  there  is 
Kronprinz  Fort,  Prinz  August  von  Wurttemberg  Fort, 
Graf  Haeseler  Fort,  and  so  on.  There  is  likewise  a 
so-called  Bismarck  Tower. 

The  huge  central  railway  station,  designed  by  a 
Berlinese  architect  in  the  Romanesque  style,  dates 
from  1908.  Virtually  all  the  French  names  of  streets 
have  been  Germanized.  The  old  Place  Royale  has 
become  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Platz.  The  names  of  Marshal 
Fabert  and  Marshal  Belle-Isle,  however,  have  been 
suffered  to  remain,  and  the  Germans  have  at  least 
had  the  decency  to  spare  the  statues  of  Ney  and 
Fabert,  contenting  themselves  with  setting  up,  by 
way  of  counterpoise,  some  effigies  of  the  present 
Kaiser's  "  illustrious  grandfather  "  and  of  Frederick 
Charles,  who  so  successfully  bamboozled  Bazaine. 
The  cathedral,  a  stately  Gothic  edifice  dating  partly 
from  the  thirteenth,  but  only  finished  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  has  been  renovated  in  various  ways.  It  was 
reroofed  with  copper  and  iron  in  1877,  and  at  the 
same  period  other  restorations  were  begun.  Much  of 
the  new  sculpture  is  ridiculous,  however.  For  instance, 
the  Gothic  portal  of  the  south-west  front  has  been 
decorated  with  statues,  one  of  which,  set  up  in  or 
about  1896,  represents  the  present  German  Emperor 
— the  features  are  unmistakable  and  the  fact  is 
explicitly  acknowledged  by  the  German  guide-books 
to  Metz — in  the  guise  of  the  Prophet  Daniel !  The 
first  thought  that  arises  in  this  connexion  is  that 
German  idiocy  could  not  well  go  further.  Yet  per- 
haps the  sculptor  of  this  effigy  had  some  imperfect 
inkling  of  what  time  might  bring  to  pass.  He  may, 
forsooth,  have  dimly  foreseen  another  Daniel  coming 
to  judgment,  another  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den,  another 


50  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Daniel  reading  the  writing  on  the  wall.  But  the  end 
of  the  story  was  not  disclosed  to  him ;  he  knew  not 
that  the  fate  of  the  Daniel  he  portrayed  would  differ 
greatly  from  that  of  the  Hebrew  prophet — that  he 
would  give  no  heed  to  the  writing,  that  judgment 
would  be  pronounced  against  him,  and  that  he  would 
not  be  spared  by  the  lions. 

In  addition  to  the  cathedral  there  are  various 
interesting  buildings  at  Metz,  such  as  the  former 
church  of  Notre  Dame  de  la  Ronde,  which  belonged 
to  the  Knights  Templars,  the  eighteenth-century 
Hotel  de  Ville,  the  Palais  de  Justice,  the  fine  public 
library,  and  the  municipal  museum,  where  many 
remains  of  the  Gallo-Roman  era  have  been  preserved. 
At  no  great  distance  from  the  city  extend  some  of  the 
most  famous  battlefields  of  the  Franco-German  War 
— on  the  east  Borny  and  Courcelles,  and  on  the  wrest 
Saint-Privat,  Mars-la-Tour,  Gravelotte,  Vionville,  and 
Rezonville.  On  an  island  cemetery,  north  of  Metz, 
are  two  monuments  erected  by  the  townsfolk  in 
1871,  one  to  the  French  soldiers  who  died  in  the  city 
during  the  siege,  and  a  smaller  one  to  the  officers  who 
fell  in  the  outskirts.  At  the  other  localities  I  have 
mentioned  there  are  several  memorials  both  to  French 
and  to  German  combatants,  as  well  as  sundry  tablets 
ad  majorem  gloriam  of  William  I,  Moltke,  and  Bis- 
marck. Another  place  of  interest  is  the  chateau  of 
Frescati,  where  the  capitulation  of  Metz  was  signed  on 
October  27,  1870.  Near  it,  prior  to  the  present  war, 
stood  some  large  sheds  for  German  airships.  I  believe 
that  they  have  since  been  bombed. 

Following  the  Moselle  northward  from  Metz  one 
passes  Maizieres  (now  Ueckingen),  a  little  town 
with  some  blast-furnaces,  before  reaching  Thionville 
(Diedenhofen,  over  14,000  inhabitants),  which  is  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  51 

chief  centre  of  metallurgical  industry  in  the  annexed 
part  of  Lorraine,  and  also  an  extremely  important  rail- 
way junction,  whither  lines  converge  from  Metz, 
Treves,  Luxemburg,  and  Longuyon.  Vauban  fortified 
Thionville,  which  in  his  time  was  accounted  quite  a 
strong  place,  but  in  1903  his  works  were  razed  by  the 
Germans,  who  have  demolished  many  other  anti- 
quated fortifications  elsewhere.  However,  Sarrebourg 
or  Saarburg  on  the  Saar — not  the  town  of  that  name 
across  the  frontier  of  Rhenish  Prussia,  but  one  in  the 
south  of  the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine — still  retains 
its  old  gates  and  ramparts.  There  is  some  contention 
that  this  place,  now  a  town  of  10,000  people,  was  the 
Pons  Saravi  of  the  Antoninian  itinerary,  though 
Saarbriicken,  a  Prussian  possession,  where  the  hos- 
tilities of  1870  virtually  began,*  also  claims  the 
classical  name.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  Saarburg 
belonged  to  the  Bishops  of  Metz,  some  Lombards 
settled  there,  and  the  town  became  a  noted  place  for 
commercial  intercourse  between  France  and  Germany. 
The  Bishops  afterwards  ceded  this  possession  to  the 
Duchy  of  Lorraine,  whence  it  passed,  also  by  cession, 
to  France  in  1661.  The  town  was  then  partially 
rebuilt  by  Louis  XIV. 

Several  other  localities  derive  their  names  from 
the  River  Saar  on  which  they  stand.  For  instance, 
there  is  Saarlouis,  the  birthplace  of  Marshal  Ney, 
which  Prussia  wrung  from  France  after  Waterloo, 
and  added  to  her  Rhenish  province.  Just  within  the 
Lorraine  frontier  stands  Sarreguemines  (Saargemund), 
a  town  of  over  15,000  inhabitants  with  important 
brass  foundries  as  well  as  factories  making  faience  and 
porcelain.  At  the  railway  station  here  some  German 

*  Napoleon  Ill's  young  son,  the  Prince  Imperial,  received  on  that  occasion 
the  "  baptism  of  fire." 


52  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

railways  are  linked  to  those  of  the  Reichsland  system 
in  such  wise  as  to  make  the  place  particularly  impor- 
tant in  war-time.  South  of  Sarreguemines  or  Saarge- 
mund  one  finds  the  little  towns  of  Saaralben  and 
Saarunion,  each  inhabited  by  some  3000  or  4000 
people,  whilst,  more  southward  still,  going  towards 
Saarburg,  is  Fenestrange  (Finstingen),  a  yet  smaller 
but  an  ancient  place  with  the  remains  of  two  feudal 
castles. 

North-wrest  of  Sarreguemines  stands  Forbach 
(10,000  inhabitants),  where  large  papier-mache  works 
used  to  exist.  On  a  height  rising  above  the  town  are 
the  ruins  of  its  feudal  castle  ;  and  in  the  distance  one 
can  see  the  Spicheren  or  Spichererberg,  a  steep  and 
sparsely  wooded  acclivity  where  the  French  under 
General  Frossard  entrenched  themselves  in  August 
1870.  They  were  dislodged,  however,  by  the  Germans, 
this  being  one  of  the  first  reverses  suffered  by  the 
French  at  the  outset  of  the  war. 

The  last  slopes  of  the  Vosges,  separating  Lorraine 
from  Alsace,  extend  in  a  north-easterly  direction. 
Hereabouts,  just  within  Alsace  and  at  the  entry  of 
the  pleasant  valley  of  Falkenstein,  will  be  found 
Niederbronn,  which  I  ought  to  have  mentioned 
sooner.  It  is  one  of  the  ten  or  twelve  spas  of  the 
Reichsland,  and  its  waters  are  prescribed  for  com- 
plaints of  the  liver  as  well  as  for  scrofula  and  lymphatic 
affections.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the  lordship  of 
Niederbronn  belonged  to  Baron  Dietrich,  Mayor  of 
Strasburg,  to  whom  I  have  previously  referred.  On 
the  Lorraine  side  of  the  Vosgian  slopes,  and  near  the 
German  frontier,  stands  Bitche  (Bitsch),  which  has 
twice  had  the  honour  of  keeping  the  Prussians  at  bay 
— first,  in  1793  when  an  inhabitant  gave  warning  of 
their  approach  by  setting  his  house  on  fire ;  and, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  53 

secondly,  in  1870  when,  like  Belfort,  Bitche  held  out 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  Only  the  annexation  gave 
this  gallant  little  place,  now  one  of  4000  souls,  to 
Germany,  and  some  years  ago  the  Germans  revenged 
themselves  in  a  peculiarly  characteristic  fashion  for 
the  resistance  offered  to  their  arms.  Bitche  rejoiced 
in  a  statue  of  Lorraine's  most  glorious  child,  the 
immortal  Maid,  Joan  of  Arc.  One  morning,  however, 
it  was  taken  down  and  carted  away,  and  in  its  place 
was  raised  a  statue  of  William  I,  German  Kaiser  by 
the  grace  of  Bismarck  ! 

Some  miles  south  of  Bitche,  in  a  well- wooded  part 
of  the  Vosgian  spurs  on  the  Lorraine  side,  is  Petite- 
Pierre  (rechristened  Liitzelstein),  which  was  formerly 
fortified.  It  possessed  little  or  no  garrison  in  1870, 
and  therefore  had  to  surrender.  The  Germans  after- 
wards demolished  its  defences.  More  southward  yet, 
and  on  a  barren,  rocky  plateau,  stands  another 
fortress  of  the  old  Lorraine — Phalsbourg  (now  Pfalz- 
burg),  the  scene  of  one  of  Erckmann-Chatrian's 
famous  stories.  Twice  was  it  besieged  in  the  time  of 
Napoleon,  first  in  1814,  and  next  in  the  following 
year ;  and  on  each  occasion  it  offered  a  desperate 
resistance.  Nor  did  Phalsbourg  belie  its  reputation  in 
1870,  but  held  out  right  doughtily  for  four  months,  in 
spite  of  bombardment  and  conflagration.  Nowadays, 
no  doubt,  Vauban's  fortifications  could  not  have 
offered  anything  like  the  same  resistance.  At  the 
present  time  Phalsbourg  is  a  town  of  about  3700 
people. 

On  the  south-western  side  of  the  annexed  part  of 
Lorraine — that  is,  near  the  French  frontier  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Nancy — will  be  found  the  towns  of  Chateau- 
Salins  (Salzburg)  and  Dieuze,  both  of  which  are 
associated  with  salt.  The  salt  deposits  of  this  district 


54  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

have  certainly  been  worked  since  the  eleventh  century, 
and  it  has  been  held  that  they  were  known  to  the 
Romans.  Chateau- Salins  counted  in  1910  less  than 
2500  inhabitants,  but  Dieuze  had  nearly  6000,  having 
progressed  whilst  its  neighbour  was  declining.  Both 
towns  are  situated  in  the  Valley  of  the  Seille,  which 
emerges  from  a  great  mere  called  the  Etang  de  Lindre. 
The  water  covers  at  times  an  expanse  of  over  1600 
acres,  and  has  an  average  depth  of  about  ten  feet. 
Every  three  years,  however,  a  part  of  the  land  is 
drained  and  cultivated  with  remarkable  results. 


Ill 

ALSATIAN  HISTORY 

(FROM  EARLY  TIMES  TO  THE  TREATY  OF  WESTPHALIA) 

Primitive  Man  in  Alsace  :  The  Celts  of  Caesar's  Time  :  Early  German 
Incursions  :  Caesar  and  Ariovistus  :  Roman  Defences  of  Alsace  :  The 
Alemanni :  Rome  and  the  German  Invaders  :  Alsace  abandoned  by 
the  Empire  :  Vandal,  Burgundian,  and  Hunnish  Invasions  :  Alsace 
under  the  Merovingian  and  Carlovingian  Franks  :  The  Disruption  of 
Charlemagne's  Empire  :  Alsace  under  German  Rule  :  Dukes,  Land- 
graves, and  Landvogts  :  The  Robber  Knights  :  The  Free  Cities  and 
the  Decapolis  League  :  Enguerrand  de  Coucy  in  Alsace  :  The  Rhenish 
Confederation  :  The  Hapsburgs  and  Alsace  :  The  Thirty  Years'  War  : 
The  Swedes  abandon  Alsace  to  France  :  The  Province  ceded  to 
Louis  XIV  by  Austria  :  Assent  of  the  Alsatians. 

THE  history  of  Alsace  begins  with  the  advent  of  the 
Romans  in  that  region,  but  it  is  held  by  scientists 
that  the  country  was  inhabited  already  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  pleistocene  or  quaternian  age. 
Rather  more  than  half  a  century  ago  portions  of  a 
human  skull  of  the  dolichocephalic  type,  recalling  the 
skulls  of  the  Emps  grotto  and  the  Neanderthal,  were 
found  at  Eguisheim,  near  Colmar,  and  on  the  same 
spot  at  the  same  time  were  discovered  a  tooth  of  the 
Elephas  primogenius,  otherwise  the  mammoth,  to- 
gether with  a  knife  and  an  arrow-head  of  silex. 
These  discoveries  were  made  in  a  bed  of  the  clay, 
usually  called  loess,  deposited  by  glaciers  of  Alpino- 
Rhenish  origin ;  and  the  conclusion  at  which  the 
learned  men  of  the  time  arrived  was  that  the  human 
species  existed  in  Alsace  at  the  diluvian  period  follow- 
ing the  glacial  age,  and  was  contemporaneous  with 

55 


56  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  aforesaid  Elephas  primogenius,  the  Rhinoceros 
tichorhinus,  the  Ursus  spelceus,  and  the  Felis  spelcea — 
bones  and  teeth  of  all  those  animals  having  been 
discovered  in  Alsace  in  soil  of  the  same  character. 
Hundreds  of  objects  in  shivered  or  split  and  also 
polished  stone  have  likewise  been  found  in  one  or 
another  part  of  the  region,  showing  that  its  inhabi- 
tants passed  through  a  stone  age,  and,  judging  by 
the  spots  where  most  discoveries  were  made,  that 
these  inhabitants  dwelt  preferentially  on  slopes  over- 
looking rivers  and  meres.  Deposits  of  loess  are 
found  in  various  parts  of  Alsace,  notably  in  districts 
extending  from  the  River  Bruch  on  the  south  to 
Niederbronn  on  the  north,  and  again  towards  the 
Swiss  frontier  on  the  south.  In  the  real  mountain 
and  plain  regions,  however,  only  few  split  or  polished 
flints  have  been  discovered.  The  lower  ground  at 
the  period  referred  to  was  indeed  still  under  water, 
and  therefore  uninhabited.  The  waters  did  not 
subside  until  the  bronze  and  iron  ages,  and  only 
then  did  man  begin  to  spread  through  this  part  of 
the  country.  As  for  Lorraine,  or  at  least  the  part 
of  it  annexed  by  Germany,  it  would  not  seem  to  have 
been  inhabited  at  as  early  a  period  as  Alsace. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  so- 
called  Pagans'  Walls  and  Castles,  there  are  certainly 
a  number  of  dolmen,  peulven,  cromlechs,  etc.,  in  the 
Vosgian  districts,  indicating  the  presence  there  of  a 
Celtic  population  at  an  early  date.  Livy  and  Csesar 
are  the  first  to  mention  the  inhabitants  of  the  region, 
the  former  asserting  that  as  far  back  as  the  Roman 
year  163 — that  is,  about  591  B.C. — large  bands  of  them 
made  their  way  across  the  Rhine  and  through  the 
Black  Forest  to  the  Danube,  on  whose  banks  they 
established  themselves.  That  is  more  or  less  legen- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  57 

dary,  and  may  have  little  if  any  foundation  in  fact. 
Caesar,  on  the  other  hand,  when  he  first  became 
acquainted  with  Alsace,  found  it  inhabited  by  Celtic 
tribes,  which  included,  in  the  north  (Metz  and  most 
of  the  Moselle  country),  the  Mediomatrici  and  the_ 
Treviri,  after  whom  the  city  of  Treves  is  named. 
Southward  dwelt  the  Rauraci  and  the  Sequani. 
Along  the  Rhine,  in  parts  of  Upper  Alsace,  there 
was  also  a  Helvetian  tribe,  called  the  Tulingi.  At 
this  period — the  first  century  before  Christ — many 
of  the  Mediomatrici  Celts  were  constantly  assailed 
by  a  Germanic  people  called  the  Tribocci,  who  flocked 
across  the  Rhine,  compelled  in  a  measure  to  quit 
their  own  lands  by  the  constant  incursions  and,  con- 
quests of  another  German  tribe,  the  Suevi,  from 
w^hom  Swabia  has  derived  its  name,  though  the 
Suevi  would  appear  to  have  had  a  more  northern 
habitat  at  an  earlier  date.  Some  of  the  Mediomatrici 
Celts  were  gradually  compelled  to  retreat  before  the 
Tribocci  as  far  even  as  the  Vosgian  slopes. 

Now  at  last  it  happened  that  war  broke  out 
between  the  Sequanian  Celts  and  the  ^Edui — another 
tribe  of  Gallia  Celtica,  dwelling  in  a  region  which  is 
now  represented  by  the  departments  of  the  Cote- 
d'Or,  the  Nievre,  the  Saone-et-Loire,  and  the  Rhone. 
The  jEduans  were  a  powerful  race,  and  the  Sequanians 
and  the  Averni  (of  Auvergne),  with  whom  they  were 
allied,  finding  themselves  hard  pressed,  eventually 
called  in  the  foreigner  to  help  them.  The  foreigner 
in  question  was  a  certain  Ariovistus,  otherwise,  it  is 
said,  Ehrenvest — a  compound  German  word  signify- 
ing "  firm  in  honour  " — and  he  was  the  chieftain  of 
various  Germanic  hordes,  principally,  it  is  asserted, 
Suevi  or  Swabians.  According  to  Caesar,  Ariovistus 
began  by  providing  15,000  men,  but  ultimately 


58  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

120,000  poured  down  upon  the  ^Eduans,  attracted 
by  the  abundance  which  was  found  in  Gaul  and  the 
prospect  of  appropriating  its  rich  lands — in  which 
respect  they  did  not  differ  from  their  descendants, 
the  Germans  of  to-day. 

They  certainly  defeated  the  ^Edui,  who  lost, 
Caesar  tells  us,  all  their  nobles  and  councillors  in  the 
struggle,  and  had  their  cavalry  annihilated.  But 
the  invaders  also  ravaged  and  pillaged  Upper  Alsace, 
through  which  they  passed,  and  after  claiming  a 
third  part  of  the  Sequanian  lands  as  recompense  for 
their  services,  their  appetite  increased  and  they 
demanded  a  second  third.  Thereupon  the  Sequanians, 
tardily  repenting  of  their  folly  in  soliciting  the  help 
of  the  unscrupulous  Germans,  became  reconciled  to 
the  uEdui,  and  Caesar's  assistance  was  solicited. 
Before  taking  action  the  Roman  general  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Ariovistus  requesting  him  to  designate  a 
suitable  spot  for  an  interview.  The  German  chieftain 
replied  that  if  he  had  needed  anything  of  Caesar  he 
would  have  gone  to  him,  and  that  it  was  for  Caesar 
to  come  to  him  if  he  desired  anything  of  him.  Ario- 
vistus's  next  proceeding  was  to  descend  on  Vesontio, 
now  Besan£on,  and  attempt  its  capture.  Foiled  in 
that  endeavour,  he  consented  to  an  interview  with 
Caesar,  and  when  it  took  place  his  speech  was  every 
whit  as  bombastic  and  as  mendacious  as  any  of  the 
orations  or  proclamations  that  have  emanated  from 
the  present  Kaiser.  Tall  and  full-bodied,  the  leader 
of  the  great  hordes  from  across  the  Rhine  seems  to 
have  regarded  with  contempt  the  short  and  slender 
Roman  and  his  far  from  numerous  legions.  It  was 
an  early  illustration  of  that  Teutonic  conceit  which 
prompted  Germany's  twentieth-century  War  Lord  to 
refer  to  the  contemptible  little  British  Army.  The 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  59 

sequel  taught  Ariovistus  his  mistake.  He  had  to 
retire  before  Caesar's  advance,  and  at  last,  after  he 
had  fixed  his  camp  at  Colmar,  a  great  battle  was 
fought  on  the  plain  between  that  town  and  Ensis- 
heim — a  tradition  says  near  Rougemont,  on  the 
little  River  Saint  Nicholas — and  the  Germanic  hordes 
were  cut  to  pieces,  90,000  dead  or  dying  being  left 
upon  the  field.  The  remainder  fled  precipitately 
across  the  Rhine,  and  Ariovistus  and  his  two  wives 
were  either  drowned  in  that  river  or  perished  during 
the  previous  fighting. 

For  a  time  this  victory,  achieved  in  the  year 
58  B.C.,  annihilated  all  Germanic  power  in  Alsace, 
which  became  a  dependency  of  Rome  and  a  bulwark 
against  the  German  barbarians.  In  the  following 
year  the  whole  territory,  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Mediomatrici  Celts  before  the  irruptions  of  the 
Tribocci,  was  annexed,  and  Caesar  placed  Labienus 
(father  or  grandfather  of  the  famous  orator  and 
historian  of  that  name)  in  charge  of  it.  Nevertheless, 
from  time  to  time  bands  of  Germans  still  crossed  the 
Rhine,  and  the  Romans  endeavoured  to  civilize  them. 
Under  Augustus  certain  lands  were  assigned  to  the 
Tribocci,  who  ended  by  clustering  around  Strasburg. 
A  little  later,  during  the  same  sovereign's  reign 
(A.D.  9),  occurred  the  memorable  defeat  of  Varus  by 
the  ambitious  German  chieftain  Arminius  or  Her- 
mann. Subsequently  that  defeat  was  partially  avenged 
by  Tiberius  and  Germanicus,  and  Hermann,  having 
aspired  to  autocratic  sway,  was  ultimately  assas- 
sinated by  some  of  his  own  countrymen.  Later  still, 
in  Vespasian's  time  (A.D.  70),  came  the  rebellion  of 
the  Batavian  leader  Civilis  against  Rome,  and  some 
of  the  Alsatian  tribes  participated  in  this  affair.  But 
the  Sequanians  remained  faithful  to  the  Empire, 


60  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

and  after  Cerealis  had  defeated  Civilis,  fire  and  sword 
were  carried  through  the  rebellious  districts  of 
Alsace. 

Under  the  sovereignty  of  the  Roman  Emperors, 
the  region,  as  we  now  know  it,  was  divided  between 
two  provinces,   Germania  prima  (capital,   Mayence), 
in  which  Lower  Alsace  was  included,  and  Maxima 
Sequanorum    (capital,    Besan9on),    to    which    Upper 
Alsace  was  attached.     In  order  to  restrain  the  constant 
incursions  of  the  Germans  the  Empire's  frontier  was 
fortified  from  the  Danube  and  along  the  Schwarz- 
wald   chain   to   the   Ochsenwald.     The   Rhine   front 
was  protected  by  numerous  castella  and  castra,  such 
a,s  those  of  Augusta  Rauraeorum  (now  the  village  of 
Augst),    near   Basle,   Mons    Brisaci    (Vieux-Brisach), 
Argentoraria  (Horburg,  near  Colmar),  Helvetus  (near 
Benfeld),  Brocomagus  (Brumath),  and  Saletis  (Seltz). 
Farther  away  from  the  river  there  was  Tres  Tabernae 
(Saverne).  Winter  camps  and  quarters  were  numerous. 
Strasburg,   then  called  Argentoratum,   was  strongly 
fortified  and  garrisoned  by  the  second,  fourth,  and 
eighth  legions.     It  enjoyed  at  the  time  a  reputation 
for  the  manufacture  of  weapons  of  war,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  the  chief  Roman  arsenal  in  this  part  of 
Gaul.     The    great    road    which    passed    from    Italy 
through    Switzerland    was    extended    all    along    the 
Rhine,    thus   connecting   the   river   fortresses   which 
have   been   enumerated,    arid  from   it   diverged  two 
western  roads,  one  running  towards  Montbeliard,  and 
the  other  crossing  the  Vosges  by  the  Col  Bonhomme. 
La  Poultroie  in  this  neighbourhood  derived  its  name 
from   Petrosa  via.     Further,    the    Theodosian    Table 
shows   that  there   was   a   great   road   running  from 
Strasburg  to  Metz  by  way  of  Saverne,  Sarrebourg, 
and  Dieuze. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  61 

As  time  elapsed  Alsace  became  more  and  more 
civilized,  and  its  legendary  lore  seems  to  indicate 
that  Christianity  spread  to  this  part  of  Gaul  already 
in  the  third  century.  Nevertheless  the  German 
attempts  upon  the  province  were  constantly  repeated. 
In  the  century  we  have  mentioned  trouble  began 
with  a  confederation  of  Germanic  tribes  located 
principally  between  the  Upper  Rhine  and  the  Neckar, 
though  some  of  them,  it  seems,  pertained  to  the 
Danubian  region.  These  people  became  known  in 
Gaul  as  the  Alemanni,  an  appellation  derived  from 
the  German  words  Alle  Manner  (all  men).  Trans- 
mitted through  the  ages  this  name  has  always  served 
among  the  French,  in  the  forms  Allemagne  and  Alle- 
mand,  to  designate  Germany  and  the  German  people. 
The  Italians,  moreover,  call  Germany  Alemagna. 
Very  numerous  and  warlike,  the  Alemanni  repeatedly 
attempted  to  seize  Alsace,  and  again  and  again  the 
Roman  Emperors  or  their  lieutenants  had  to  drive 
them  back  across  the  Rhine.  For  instance,  in  the 
year  217  Caracalla  had  to  discharge  that  duty,  in 
237  it  was  the  turn  of  Maximinus,  in  265  that  of 
Posthumus,  a  little  later  that  of  Aurelian,  and  in  281 
that  of  Probus  to  do  so.  The  last-named  did  not 
mince  matters,  and  even  as  to-day  in  rural  France 
each  person  who  brings  proof  that  he  has  killed  a 
wolf  is  entitled  to  a  pecuniary  reward  from  his  munici- 
pality, so  this  Roman  Emperor  ordained  that  every 
man  who  brought  in  the  head  of  a  German  invader 
should  receive  a  piece  of  gold. 

Yet  still  the  German  attempts  continued.  In 
287  the  intruders  were  beaten  back  by  Maximianus 
Hercules,  in  301  by  Constantius  Chlorus,  and  in  304 
by  Constantine,  aftenvaids  the  Great.  At  the  time 
of  his  son,  Constans  II,  the  barbarians  at  last  secured 


62  THE    TRUE    STORY   OF 

an  opportunity  to  seize  Alsace,  for  after  the  defeat 
of  the  usurper  Magnentius  the  Emperor  utilized  them 
to  attack  Decentius,  one  of  Magnentius' s  kinsmen. 
Thereupon  a  German  host  under  a  certain  Chnodomir 
crossed  the  Rhine,  and  after  routing  Decentius, 
captured  and  pillaged  forty-five  flourishing  localities, 
including  the  towns  of  Strasburg,  Brumath,  Seltz, 
and  Saverne.  Thus  in  the  years  353-4  they  virtually 
made  themselves  masters  of  Alsace.  As  they  refused 
to  depart  Constans  dispatched  the  future  Emperor 
Julian  against  them,  and  the  Battle  of  Strasburg, 
fought  in  357,  compelled  them  to  flee  across  the 
Rhine.  To  prevent,  or  at  least  to  delay,  future 
incursions  Julian  invaded  their  territory  and  again 
punished  them  severely.  Ten  years  of  comparative 
quietude  then  ensued,  but  during  the  winter  of  367 — 
that  is,  in  the  first  Valentinian's  time — they  crossed 
over  the  ice-bound  Rhine,  fell  upon  the  Roman 
garrisons  and  defeated  them.  Once  more  they  were 
expelled,  and  the  river  fortresses  were  rebuilt  or 
repaired  by  Valentinian's  orders.  In  378,  however, 
they  came  yet  again,  but  were  soundly  beaten  by 
Gratian  near  Colmar.  Thus  things  continued  until 
in  or  about  the  year  403,  at  the  time  of  Honorius, 
Rome  abandoned  Alsace  to  its  fate. 

This  retirement  has  been  related  in  conflicting 
ways.  According  to  one  account  Stilicho,  Honorius's 
general  and  also  his  father-in-law,  wilfully  withdrew 
from  Alsace,  dismantling  all  its  fortresses,  in  order  to 
give  free  admission  to  the  Vandals,  the  Alans,  and 
the  Suevi  or  Swabians.  Stilicho,  be  it  noted,  was 
of  Vandal  origin.  The  other  account  is  more  in 
keeping  both  with  the  eulogium  of  Stilicho,  penned 
by  Claudian  of  Alexandria,  and  with  ascertained 
historical  facts.  It  is  that  the  general  was  constrained 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  63 

to  withdraw  the  legions  from  Alsace  in  order  to 
contend — as  he  very  ably  did — against  Alaric  and 
the  Visigoths  in  Italy.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Vandals  and  the  Alans  certainly  availed  themselves 
of  the  departure  of  the  Roman  soldiers.  In  406 
they  overran  Alsace,  sacked  and  burnt  its  towns, 
demolished  the  Roman  fortresses  and  monuments, 
and  virtually  destroyed  all  industry,  commerce,  and 
agriculture,  in  such  wise  that  within  a  twelvemonth 
the  province  had  become  a  waste. 

About  the  same  time  as  the  Vandals  and  the 
Alans  other  invaders  appeared — the'  Burgundians, 
who,  according  to  Pliny,  were  akin  to  the  Vandals 
and  the  Goths.  Other  writers,  Ammianus  Marcel- 
linus  and  Orosius,  claim,  however,  that  they  sprang 
from  a  Roman  colony  established  in  Central  Ger- 
many some  centuries  previously;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Island  of  Riigen,  in  the  Baltic,  was  once 
called  Burgundaland  and  is  known  to  have  been 
inhabited  by  a  Slavonic  race.  There  may  be  some 
connexion  between  those  facts.  In  any  case,  what- 
ever their  origin  was,  the  Burgundians  gradually 
approached  the  Rhine,  and  at  one  time  Valentinian 
urged  them  to  attack  and  dispossess  the  Alemanni 
settled  there.  In  407  they  at  last  crossed  the  river 
and  appeared  in  Alsace,  but  were  subsequently 
defeated  both  by  the  Huns  and  by  Aetius  (Attila's 
victorious  antagonist),  whereupon,  going  southward, 
they  entered  Savoy,  and  then  spread  westward  to 
the  region  of  the  Rhone. 

Since  the  departure  of  the  Roman  legions  Alsace 
had  become,  as  it  were,  an  open  door  by  which  any 
barbarian  race  might  penetrate  into  Gaul.  The  Huns 
naturally  availed  themselves  of  this  facility  for  in- 
vasion on  setting  out,  during  the  first  half  of  the 


64  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

fifth  century,  to  overrun  the  Gallo-Roman  provinces. 
When  in  451  Attila's  innumerable  host  was  at  last 
defeated  on  the  plain  of  Chalons-sur-Marne  it  was 
confronted  by  three  forces,  one  of  Gallo-Romans 
commanded  by  Aetius,  one  of  Visigoths  under  their 
King  Theodoric,  and  one  of  Franks,  said  to  have  been 
led  by  Merovius,  from  whom  the  Merovingian  dynasty 
derived  its  name.  These  Franks  had  previously 
descended  upon  Gaul,  and  Aetius,  though  glad  of 
their  help  on  the  Campi  Catalaunici,  repeatedly  con- 
tended against  them.  They  were  divided  into  two 
branches,  the  Salic  or  Salian  branch,  which  had  come, 
it  is  said,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Yssel,  an  arm  of 
the  Rhine  flowing  into  the  Zuider  Zee,  and  another, 
the  Ripuarian  branch,  located  near  the  Rhine  itself. 
There  has  been  much  speculation  as  to  the  origin  of 
this  people.  They  were  one  of  the  Germanic  races, 
but  it  seems  probable  that  they  were  more  akin  to 
the  Batavians  (or,  as  we  should  now  say,  the  Dutch) 
than  to  the  other  German  tribes,  whom  they  certainly 
did  not  love,  as  was  shown  by  frequent  wars. 

Fierce  and  barbarous  as  these  Franks  first  were, 
they  gradually  assimilated  what  yet  remained  of 
Gallo-Roman  civilization,  and  after  becoming  pre- 
ponderant in  Gaul,  endeavoured,  in  spite  of  frequent 
contests  among  themselves,  to  keep  out  all  German 
and  other  invaders.  In  496  Clovis  defeated  the 
Alemanni  on  the  Rhine — somewhere  in  the  vicinity 
of  Tolbiac,  now  Zulpich,  near  Cologne — but  the 
struggle  appears  to  have  continued  intermittently 
until  536,  when  the  Alemanni  had  to  acknowledge 
Prankish  supremacy  and  evacuate  all  Gallic  territory 
north  of  the  wooded  Eifel  plateau,  now  in  Rhenish 
Prussia.  Exceptions  were  made  at  the  time  in  favour 
of  a  few  who  were  allowed  to  remain  between  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  65 

Eifel  and  the  Forest  of  Haguenau  upon  undertaking 
to  pay  a  tax.  Others  dwelt,  comparatively  free,  in 
the  southern  dioceses  of  Strasburg,  Basle,  and  Con- 
stance. Frankish  immigrants  settled  among  the 
Alemanni  and  the  remnants  of  the  Celtic  and  Gallo- 
Roman  population,  and  some  measure  of  law  and 
order  slowly  began  to  prevail. 

It  was  the  Frankish  custom  for  a  father  to  divide 
his  possessions  among  his  children,  and  thus,  under 
the  Merovingian  dynasty,  the  Gallic  territory  was 
repeatedly  split  up  into  various  kingdoms.  Alsace 
followed  the  fortunes  of  that  of  Austrasia  (the  eastern 
kingdom),  which  was  constantly  at  war  with  that 
of  Neustria.  In  or  about  630  there  sprang  up  a  line 
of  Dukes  of  Alsace,  but  the  dukedom  was  only  a 
benefice  and  not  hereditary,  successive  Kings  of  the 
Merovingian  race  appointing  at  their  pleasure  a  new 
duke  whenever  any  holder  of  the  dignity  died.  Accord- 
ing to  some  accounts  it  was  Charles  Martel,  mayor  of 
the  palace  at  the  time  of  Clothaire  IV,  who,  becoming 
alarmed  by  the  increasing  power  of  the  Alsatian 
dukes,  suppressed  them  and  instituted  in  their  place 
two  counts,  one  for  Upper  and  the  other  for  Lower 
Alsace.  Another  version  asserts  that  this  change 
was  effected  by  Pepin,  the  first  of  the  Carlovingians. 
But  it  appears  certain  that  there  were  already  such 
counts  or  landgraves  at  the  time  of  the  early  dukes, 
and  that  they  acted  as  deputy*governors  under  the 
latter.  When  the  dukes  were  abolished  the  land- 
graves became  direct  officials  of  the  King,  and  were 
charged  with  the  administration  of  justice,  the  collec- 
tion of  the  royal  revenues,  and  the  supervision  of 
churches  and  conventual  establishments. 

Alsace  is  said  to  have  continued  prosperous  until 
the  death  of  Charlemagne.  Agiiculturejextgnded,  and 


66  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

there  was  Considerable  jtrad£~  in  ...timhex-and  wine. 
The  Romanized  Celts,  dispossessed  of  most  of  their 
former  "lands,  dwelt  chiefly  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Vosges  and  among  the  hill-side  pasturages.  Even 
to-day  a  Romanesque  dialect  will  be  found  in  these 
parts.  The  rest  of  the  province  was  peopled  by 
Franks  and  Germans,  and  even  as  a  Prankish  dialect 
prevailed  in  Lower  Alsace  so  an  Alemanian  one 
predominated  in  the  Upper  districts. 

It  wras  on  the  Ochsenfeld,  in  Alsace,  that  in  810 
Charlemagne's  son,  Louis  le  Debonnaire,  was  dethroned 
by  his  rebellious  children  with  the  connivance  of  the 
crafty  Pope  Gregory  IV,  who,  though  described  in 
the  histories  of  the  Church  as  a  learned  and  pious 
man,  did  not  shrink  from  abetting  the  enterprise  to 
dethrone  and  despoil  Charlemagne's  heir  and  suc- 
cessor. For  a  moment  Louis'  son  Lothair  succeeded 
him,  but  Lothair's  brothers  rebelled,  and  after  Lothair 
had  been  defeated  at  Fontenoy-en-Puisaye  (841) 
Louis  was  momentarily  reinstated.  Two  years  later 
Charlemagne's  empire  was  dismembered  by  the  famous 
Treaty  of  Verdun.  By  this  convention  Louis  le 
Debonnaire's  son  Louis  took  all  Germany  as  far  as 
the  Rhine,  on  which  account  he  became  known 
historically  as  Louis  the  Germanic.  His  brother 
Charles,  afterwards  known  as  the  Bald,  secured 
France  within  limits  formed  by  the  Scheldt,  the 
Meuse,  the  Saone,  and  the  Rhone ;  whilst  Eastern 
France,  inclusive  of  Alsace,  and  some  Italian  posses- 
sions were  assigned  to  the  son  of  the  previously 
defeated  Lothair.  Shortly  before  the  latter  died  in 
855  at  a  monastery  at  Treves,  Lothair  II  assumed  the 
title  of  King  of  Lotharingia  or  Lorraine,  as  I  have 
already  explained.* 

*  See  pp.  10,  47,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  67 

In  867  this  Lothair  bestowed  the  title  of  Duke  of 
Alsace  on  a  natural  son  of  his,  called  Hugh  ;  but 
two  years  later  he  died,  and  in  870  a  Franco-German 
treaty  was  signed  at  Mersen,  by  which  Alsace  was 
transferred  to  Louis  the  Germanic.  Hugh  was  there- 
upon debarred  from  exercising  authority,  but  after 
Louis'  death  in  876  he  regained  it  for  a  short  time. 
Louis'  son  and  successor,  Charles  the  Fat,  thereupon 
seized  him,  had  his  eyes  put  out,  and  shut  him  up 
in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Gall. 

Further  contestations  arose.  Charles  the  Fat 
ended,  however,  by  uniting  for  a  few  years  the  Carlo- 
vingian  possessions — France,  Germany,  and  Italy — 
under  his  sway.  Then  the  French  deposed  him,  and 
Eudes  (not  Hugh)  Capet  reigned  over  them  in  his 
stead.  In  Germany  Charles  the  Fat  was  followed  by 
Arnulf,  who  was  crowned  as  Emperor  in  896.  He 
had  bestowed  the  kingdom  of  Lorraine,  which  again 
included  Alsace,  on  a  natural  son  called  Swentibold,* 
who  when  a  conspiracy  broke  out  to  reinstate  the 
blinded  Hugh  committed  him  again  to  durance,  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  Frankish  custom,  caused  his 
head  to  be  shaved,  as  one  unworthy  of  reigning.  In 
Alsace-Lorraine  Swentibold' s  exactions  and  cruelty 
were  so  great  that  after  his  father's  death  the  people 
rose  against  him  and  recognized  another  of  Arnulf's 
sons,  Louis  the  Child,  as  sovereign.  Swentibold  was 
killed  in  some  fighting  in  Westphalia  in  the  year  900, 
and  Louis  the  Child  died  eleven  years  later,  whereupon 
Charles  the  Simple  of  France  took  possession  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  and  came  thither  to  be  recognized 
as  sovereign.  From  the  standpoint  of  heredity  his 
claim  was  indisputable,  for  he  was  descended  from 
Charlemagne,  and  the  death  of  Louis  the  Child  had 

*  Latinized  both  as  Zventibuchus  and  as  Centiboldus  in  ancient  deeds. 


68  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

extinguished  the  Carlovingian  line  in  Germany,  where 
other  houses  now  arose  to  the  chief  power.  The 
first  of  the  new  sovereigns  in  that  country  was 
Conrad  I,  previously  Duke  of  Franconia,  and  he 
within  a  few  months  wrested  Alsace-Lorraine  from 
Charles  the  Simple.  But  the  inhabitants  drove  him 
out  and  in  913  reinstated  the  French  King.  In 
fact,  it  was  only  after  the  French  had  deposed  Charles 
the  Simple  in  923 — he  perished  in  captivity  at  Peronne 
six  years  later — and  at  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Henry 
the  Fowler,  that  Alsace  passed  once  more  under  German 
sway. 

Under  earlier  German  rulers  the  province  had 
been  administered  by  certain  fiscal  agents  termed 
nuntii  camerce,  whose  exactions  made  them  extremely 
unpopular.  Conrad,  during  his  brief  spell  of  authority 
there,  had  appointed  a  Swabian  lord  as  Duke,  in 
order  that  the  country  might  be  better  governed. 
Henry  the  Fowler  followed  this  example,  but  it  was 
only  in  1080,  at  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Henry  IV 
(the  adversary  of  the  famous  Hildebrand,  otherwise 
Pope  Gregory  VII),  that  the  dukedom  of  Alsace 
became  a  hereditary  appanage  of  the  house  of 
Hohenstaufen,  and  continued  as  such  until  the  last 
representative  of  that  race,  Conradin,  suffered  death 
on  the  scaffold  at  Naples  in  1268.  Under  the  Hohen- 
staufen Dukes  of  Alsace  there  were  hereditary  land- 
graves of  the  Upper  and  Lower  Divisions,  the  first 
being  appointed  in  1138.  These  landgraves  had  no 
territorial  status,  their  functions  were  chiefly  judicial, 
and  their  courts  of  pleas  were  held  in  the  open  air 
until  a  so-called  "  regency "  was  established  at 
Ensisheim.  In  Lower  Alsace  the  landgraviate  functions 
were  exercised  by  several  successive  Counts  of  Wcerth, 
but  in  1359  that  county  and  the  lordship  of  Erstein 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  69 

were  purchased  by  John  of  Lichtenberg,  Bishop  of 
Strasburg,  for  32,000  gold  florins.  Previously  he 
had  become  Imperial  Landvogt,  or  high  bailiff,  in 
Upper  Alsace,  and  after  his  death  one  finds  the 
Bishops  of  Strasburg  styling  themselves  Landgraves 
of  Alsace,  and  convoking  and  presiding  the  States  of 
Lower  Alsace  down  to  the  time  when  German  rule 
ceased  there.  Before  the  Strasburg  prelates  acquired 
the  landgraviate  dignity  its  holders  included,  apart 
from  the  Counts  of  Wcerth,  a  number  of  other  petty 
nobles,  and  also  some  high  and  puissant  personages. 
Among  the  sons  of  the  early  dukes  who  were  often 
invested  with  the  functions  was  a  certain  Erchanger, 
or  Erchangarius,  who  became  the  father  of  the 
Empress  Ricardis,  the  repudiated  wife  of  Charles 
the  Fat,  a  legend  respecting  whom  I  related  in  a 
previous  chapter.*  In  L^pper  Alsace  the  first  land- 
grave appears  to  have  been  Wernher  of  Hapsburg 
(1168),  and  several  other  members  of  his  line  took 
that  title  after  abandoning  the  one  of  Count  of 
Nordgau,  which  was  last  used,  apparently,  by  the 
Emperor  Henry  IV  of  the  Saxon  line.  Our  Cceur  de 
Lion's  gaoler,  Henry  VI  of  the  Hohenstaufen  house — 
called  the  Cruel,  or  the  Sharp — styled  himself  Land- 
gravius  Alsatiae  in  a  deed  of  1192.  The  German 
term  Landgrafschaft  having  no  equivalent  in  French, 
Charles  the  Rash  of  Burgundy,  who  for  a  short  time 
held  the  province,  substituted  the  word  vicomte,  and 
even  gave  Alsace  the  name  of  Auxois. 

Of  lesser  rank  than  the  landgraves  were  the 
officials  known  by  the  name  of  Landvogt.  They 
appear  to  have  been  high  bailiffs,  or  stewards,  acting 
on  behalf  of  the  landgraves,  more  particularly  when 
the  latter  were  also  Holy  Roman  Emperors.  Among 

*  See  p.  38,  ante. 


70  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

these  Landvogts  were  some  Bishops  of  Strasburg,  some 
Counts  of  Ferrette  and  Hohenberg,  some  Bavarian 
dukes,  and  Austrian  dukes  and  archdukes,  as  well 
as  sundry  Burgraves  of  Magdeburg.  After  Alsace 
passed  to  France  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV,  that 
sovereign  took  to  himself  the  title  of  Landgrave  of 
Alsace,  and  at  first  conferred  the  landvogtei,  or  bail- 
liage,  on  Henri  Count  d'Harcourt  of  the  house  of 
Lorraine.  A  little  later  Cardinal  Mazarin  and  his 
nephew-in-law,  La  Meilleraye  Duke  Mazarin  and 
husband  of  Hortense  Mancini,  became  Landvogts. 
Some  members  of  the  house  of  Chatillon  followed 
them,  and  finally,  just  before  the  great  Revolution, 
the  famous  Duke  de  Choiseul  held  this  dignity. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  Alsace 
was  ruled  at  various  periods  by  dukes,  counts,  land- 
graves, or  chief  justices,  and  Landvogts,  otherwise 
high  stewards  or  bailiffs.  The  authority  of  these 
personages  was  often  more  nominal  than  real  in  early 
times.  Soon  after  the  feudaj_jystem  originated  quite 
a  number  of  counts,  barons,  and  so  forth,  many  from 
across  the  Rhine,  sprang  up,  some  of  them  having 
extensive  domains,  and  others  owning  little  beyond 
the  stone  walls  of  their  hill-side  towers.  Whilst  the 
former  were  prosperous  and  afforded  protection  to 
their  respective  vassals  and  serfs,  the  latter  subsisted 
by  sheer  robbery.  Such  was  long  the  case  all  over 
the  so-called  Holy  Roman  Empire,  throughout  whose 
former  Teutonic  territory  may  still  be  found  linger- 
ing many  a  legend  of  the  old-time  robber  knights, 
the  Landschaden — the  "  Banes  of  the  Land  " — as 
they  became  called.  Commerce  was  throttled  by 
these  predatory  "  nobles "  who  "  lived  from  the 
saddle,"  and  who,  as  in  the  case  of  Eberhard  of 
Wiirttemberg,  entitled  themselves  "  friends  of  God 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  71 

and  enemies  of  all."  Few  roads  were  safe  in  their 
days.  Travelling  merchants  went  their  way  in  fear 
and  trembling,  constantly  repeating  in  their  prayers  : 

"  From  Kockeritze  and  Ltideritze, 
From  Krocker,  Kracht,  and  Itzenplitze, 
Good  Lord  deliver  us  !  " 

It  was  for  purposes  of  self-defence  against  the 
enterprises  of  these  plundering  castellans,  from  whom 
many  high  and  mighty  folk  of  present-day  Germany 
are  descended,  that  several  towns  freed  themselves 
and  banded  themselves  together  in  confederations. 
Nowhere  else  were  the  so-called  robber  knights  more 
plentiful  than  in  Alsace,  where  they  throve  particu- 
larly by  intercepting  trade  between  Germany  and 
France,  and  contrived,  often  for  years,  to  secure 
impunity  among  their  Vosgian  fastnesses — to  which 
circumstance  may  be  traced  the  origin  of  the  term 
"  Alsatia,"  given  by  us  originally  to  the  lawbreakers' 
sanctuary  of  Whitefriars  in  London,  and  afterwards 
employed  as  a  generic  name  to  designate  any  rookery 
of  dishonest  and  unscrupulous  folk. 

In  1255  the  chief  Alsatian  centres  joined  the 
so-called  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  which  included 
some  three -score  cities  or  towns  allied  together  for 
purposes  of  self-defence.  Already  in  the  latter  half 
of  the  previous  century  the  Emperor  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  one  of  whose  favourite  places  of  residence 
was  Haguenau,  in  Alsace,  had  made  various  Alsatian 
townships  "  free  imperial  cities,"  and  granted  them 
a  number  of  privileges.  Strasburg  became  a  "free 
city  of  the  Empire  "  (freie  Reichstadt),  and  in  July 
1205  (one  account  says  1201)  the  Emperor  Philip 
(of  Swabia)  advanced  Strasburg  by  diploma  to  the 
rank  of  an  immediate  city  of  the  Empire — unmittelbare 
Reichstadt.  Under  Frederick  II — that  is,  about  1219 — 


72  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

the  city's  privileges  were  increased  by  another  charter. 
Thus  it  was  gradually  freed  from  the  tyrannical  rule 
of  the  officials  appointed  by  its  bishops,  and  secured, 
in  addition  to  municipal  autonomy,  rights  of  high 
and  low  justice  within  its  territory.  The  city's 
last-mentioned  charter  sanctioned  a  senate  of  twelve 
members,  partly  nobles  and  partly  burgesses. 

This  state  of  affairs  was  by  no  means  pleasing  to 
the  Strasburgian  prelates,  and  one  of  them,  Walter 
of  Geroldseck,  amidst  the  confusion  which  prevailed 
about  the  time  of  the  last  Hohenstaufen,*  endeavoured 
to  destroy  the  city's  autonomy  and  extinguish  its 
rights.  The  better  to  accomplish  his  design  he  ex- 
communicated the  inhabitants ;  nevertheless  they 
resisted  him,  chose  the  famous  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg 
to  command  them,  and  at  a  battle  fought  at  Ober- 
hausbergen  on  March  8,  1262,  signally  defeated  the 
episcopal  forces — the  bishop's  brother  with  seventy 
knights  and  ninety  others  of  noble  rank  being  taken 

*  That  is,  Conradin,  who  in  endeavouring  to  reconquer  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Two  Sicilies  was  vanquished  at  Tagliacozzo  and,  although  only  sixteen 
years  of  age,  was  sent  to  the  scaffold  by  Charles  of  Anjou,  brother  of  the 
French  King,  Saint  Louis.  The  Sicilian  kingdom  had  come  to  the  Hohen- 
staufen emperors  by  the  marriage  of  Conradin's  grandfather,  the  Emperor 
Henry  VI,  with  the  Princess  Constantia  of  the  Sicilian  Norm;;n  dynasty 
which  followed  the  Saracen  lule.  Henry,  however,  in  order  to  assert  his 
'*  rights,"  had  to  conquer  Calabria  and  Sicily  by  force,  and,  as  Gibbon  put 
it,  "  against  the  unanimous  wish  of  a  free  people."  What  the  Sicilians 
thought  of  the  irruption  of  the  Germans  is  shown  by  the  writings  of  Hugo 
Falcandus,  the  "  Tacitus  of  the  Middle  Ages  "  :  "  Constantia,  the  daughter 
of  Sicily,"  said  he,  "  nursed  from  her  cradle  in  the  pleasures  and  plenty, 
and  educated  in  the  art*  and  manners  of  this  fortunate  island,  departed  long 
since  to  enrich  the  Barbarians  with  our  treasures,  and  she  now  returns  with 
her  savage  allies  to  contaminate  the  beauties  of  her  ancient  parental  land. 
Already  do  I  behold  the  swarms  of  angry  Barbarians  !  Our  opulent  cities, 
places  flourishing  after  a  long  peace,  arc  shaken  with  fear,  desolated  by 
slaughter,  consumed  by  rapine,  and  polluted  by  intemperance  and  lust. 
I  see  our  citizens  massacred  or  reduced  to  bondage,  and  our  virgins  and 
our  matrons  raped."  Had  Falcandus  lived  eight  centuries  later  he  could 
not  have  written  differently  of  the  Germans  in  Belgium  and  Northern 
France  and  other  lands  also. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  73 

prisoners  by  the  burghers.  Eleven  years  later,  when 
Rudolph  of  Hapsburg  became  Emperor,  he  confirmed 
all  Strasburg's  rights  and  privileges. 

A  long  period  of  contention  between  the  city's 
old  patrician  families  and  its  burgesses  and  artisans 
ensued ;  but  the  Strasburgian  Government  assumed 
by  degrees  a  more  and  more  democratic,  in  fact  a 
republican,  character,  which  culminated  at  last  in 
1482 — at  the  time  of  Frederick  the  Pacific — in  a 
famous  charter  called  the  Schwcerbrief.  It  took  this 
name  from  the  provision  it  contained  that  once  every 
year  one  and  all  should  swear  obedience  to  it.  The 
constitution  confirmed  by  this  charter  subsisted  with 
very  few  changes  down  to  the  time  of  the  French 
Revolution,  for  it  was  respected  by  even  so  imperious 
a  monarch  as  Louis  XIV.  The  municipal  Senate 
consisted  at  first  of  forty-seven  members — that  is, 
eight  nobles,  fourteen  burgesses,  and  twenty-five 
artisans — the  full  number  afterwards  being  reduced 
to  thirty  members,  ten  nobles,  and  twenty  representa- 
tives of  the  guilds  or  corporations.  At  the  head  of 
the  administration  were  two  Stettmeister  (joint  mayors, 
so  to  say)  and  an  Ammeistcr,  or  chief  officer  of  the 
guilds.  The  number  of  guilds  was  limited  to  twenty, 
each  of  which  chose  fifteen  representatives  known  as 
echevins.  These  (300  altogether)  formed  a  Grand 
Council.  One  may  take  the  Senate  as  an  Upper 
House  or  Court  of  Aldermen,  and  the  Grand  Council 
as  a  Lower  House  or  Common  Council.  The  executive 
was  composed  of  three  Chambers  or  Committees  known 
respectively  as  the  Thirteen,  the  Fifteen,  and  the 
Twenty-one.  The  members  appear  to  have  been 
named  for  life,  one-third  of  them  being  nobles,  and 
two-thirds  belonging  to  the  other  classes.  The  Thir- 
teen had  charge  of  the  city's  Foreign  Policy,  the 


74  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Fifteen  dealt  with  Home  Affairs,  and  the  Twenty-one 
were  in  charge  of  religious  and  judicial  matters.  The 
organization  may  seem  to  have  been  somewhat  intri- 
cate, but  it  was  regarded  in  the  old  days  as  a  master- 
piece of  political  wisdom,  and  Erasmus  remarked 
that  the  little  Republic  of  Stiasburg  was  the  ideal 
of  its  kind. 

I  have  written  at  some  length  on  this  subject  in 
view  of  some  of  the  latter-day  pretensions  of  Germany 
respecting  Strasburg.  The  city  emerged  from  the 
Middle  Ages  essentially  as  a  Republic,  acknowledging 
no  personal  rule  wrhether  on  the  part  of  its  Bishop, 
or  any  Alsatian  Landgrave,  or  any  German  Emperor, 
or,  later,  any  King  of  France.  If  its  constitution 
was  somewhat  complicated,  this  was  devised  precisely 
to  prevent  any  one  man  from  attempting  despotic 
rule.  It  may  be  added  that  the  constitution  of 
Strasburg  served  as  a  model  for  several  other  .cities 
in  the  region  of  the  Rhine. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  revert  to  earlier  times. 
During  the  interregnum  which  elapsed  between  the 
death  of  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg  and  the  accession  of 
Adolphus  of  Nassau  (1291-92)  the  Alsatians — clergy, 
nobles,  and  burgesses— made  an  attempt  to  sever 
their  connexion  with  the  Empire  and  secure  absolute 
independence.  They  were  not  sufficiently  powerful, 
however,  to  effect  their  object ;  but  in  1354,  with 
the  assent  of  the  Emperor  Charles  IV  (of  the  house 
of  Luxemburg),  ten  of  the  free  towns — Colmar, 
Haguenau,  Kayserberg,  Mulhouse,  Miinster,  Obernai, 
Rosheim,  Schlestadt,  Turkheim,  and  Weissenburg — • 
formed  for  mutual  support  a  league  known  as  the 
Decapolis.  Unfortunately  the  contracting  parties 
constituting  this  Confederation  were  often  remiss  in 
fulfilling  their  obligations — notably  in  regard  to  Mul- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  75 

house,  which,  being  coveted  by  some  of  the  Haps- 
burgs  and  others,  vainly  appealed  to  its  allies  for 
assistance  on  two  principal  occasions  during  the 
fifteenth  century.  Mulhouse  ultimately  turned  for 
help  to  the  Swiss,  and,  in  gratitude  to  them,  joined 
their  Confederation  in  1513,  in  such  wise  that  it 
afterwards  took  no  part  in  Alsatian  affairs,  and  even 
escaped  annexation  by  Louis  XIV.  Indeed,  only 
in  1798  did  this  democratic  little  State,  for  such  it 
was,  sever  of  its  own  free  wdll  its  connexion  with 
Switzerland  and  give  itself  over  to  the  French  Republic. 
The  withdrawal  of  Mulhouse  from  the  Decapolis 
League  (into  which,  by  the  way,  Strasburg,  satisfied 
with  its  own  independence,  never  entered)  led  to 
the  League's  decline  and  demise  in  the  course  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  famous  Black  Plague,  of  which  Boccaccio  has 
left  us  such  a  vivid  account  in  the  "  Decameron  " — 
in  Italy  alone  during  seven  months  of  the  year  1348 
it  carried  off  120,000  persons,  including  Boccaccio's 
Fiammetta — soon  spread  to  France,  passed  through 
the  Rhone  region,  where  Petrarch's  Laura  succumbed 
to  it,  and,  in  the  following  year,  made  its  appearance 
as  far  north  as  Alsace.  Strasburg  did  not  escape 
infection,  16,000  of  its  inhabitants  perished,  and  the 
survivors,  blindly  accusing  the  Jews  who  dwelt 
among  them  of  being  the  authors  of  this  pestilence, 
fell  upon  them  and  are  said  to  have  put  2000  to  death, 
a  number  of  these  being  burnt  at  the  stake.  Seven- 
teen years  later  (1365)  came  a  so-called  "  English 
Invasion  "  of  Alsace.  The  invaders  were,  however, 
really  mercenaries  of  all  nations,  desperadoes  of  some 
of  the  so-called  Great  Companies  at  one  time  employed 
by  Edward  III  and  the  Black  Prince,  but  dismissed 
after  the  Peace  of  Bretigny.  They  ravaged  the 


76  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

Alsatian  rural  districts,  and  several  towns  found  it 
difficult  to  keep  them  at  bay.  For  some  years  bands 
of  these  soldiery  roamed  about  the  country,  and  in 
1375  a  large  force  of  them,  or  others  of  a  similar 
stamp,  was  gathered  together  by  a  French  noble 
who  suddenly  laid  claim  to  Alsace,  Aargau,  and  Brisgau 
— the  last  named  now  a  district  of  Baden. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  during  the  present 
Great  War  the  Germans  wantonly  destroyed,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Soissons,  one  of  the  finest  ruined  feudal 
castles  of  France,  that  of  Coucy,  the  admiration  of 
archaeologists  in  modern  times.  Erected  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  by  Enguerrand  III,  Sire  de  Coucy, 
this  castle  was  partly  blown  up  by  Mazarin  during 
the  second  Fronde  rebellion  in  1652,  and  forty  years 
later  its  majestic  circular  keep  (187  feet  in  height  and 
325  feet  in  circumference)  was  cleft  from  top  to 
bottom  (though  its  walls  were  34  feet  thick)  by  the 
shock  of  a  great  earthquake.  Since  then,  until  the 
German  barbarians  came,  Coucy  had  been  but  an 
imposing  picturesque  ruin,  without  military  import- 
ance, but  highly  interesting  as  a  memorial  of  feudal 
times.  I  have  recalled  those  facts  because  the  noble 
who  laid  claim  to  Alsace  in  1375  was  Enguerrand  VII, 
the  last  of  the  old  Sires  de  Coucy.  It  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  position  to  which  that  house  attained  if 
I  mention  that  the  mother  of  Enguerrand  VII  was 
a  sister  of  Duke  Leopold  of  Austria,  a  granddaughter 
of  the  Emperor  Albert  I,  and  a  great-granddaughter 
of  the  famous  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg.  It  was  by 
virtue  of  this  descent  that  Enguerrand  laid  claim  to 
the  Hapsburg  domains  and  rights  in  Alsace  and  other 
parts.  Enguerrand,  moreover,  had  a  Scottish  grand- 
mother, a  daughter  or  sister  of  the  first  of  the  Baliols, 
and,  further,  whilst  he  was  residing  in  England  as 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  77 

a  hostage  for  King  John  of  France,  Edward  III  gave 
him  his  daughter  Isabella  in  marriage  and  conferred 
on  him  the  barony  of  Bedford  and  other  lordships. 

Such  was  the  international  grand  seigneur  who 
suddenly  descended  upon  Alsace  with  a  number  of 
soldiers  of  fortune  to  enforce  his  claim  to  "  his 
mother's  rights."  His  uncle,  the  Landgrave  Duke 
Leopold  of  Austria,  was  taken  by  surprise,  but  he 
obtained  assistance  from  the  Swiss,  and  Enguerrand's 
motley  bands  of  mercenaries  were  worsted  in  various 
encounters,  with  the  result  that  the  Pretender  aban- 
doned his  claims  upon  being  granted  the  lordships  of 
Baren  and  Nidau  as  fiches  de  consolation.  Subse- 
quently, the  King  of  France  being  his  suzerain, 
Enguerrand  fought  (somewhat  unwillingly)  against 
the  English  in  various  parts.  He  died,  leaving  two 
daughters,  one  of  whom  conveyed  the  lordship  of 
Coucy  to  the  house  of  Bar,  whence  it  passed  to 
that  of  Luxemburg  and  ultimately  to  the  French 
crown. 

I  have  had  occasion  more  than  once  to  refer  to 
the  Hapsburg  connexion  with  Alsace,  and  before 
going  further  it  is  as  well  to  explain  matters  rather 
more  clearly,  particularly  as  it  was  the  Austrian 
house  which  ultimately  ceded  Alsace  to  France.  It 
may  be  said  then  that  whilst  the  Hapsburg  power  in 
the  province  began  (as  was  mentioned  on  p.  69) 
with  the  appointment  of  sundry  members  of  the 
family  as  landgraves  under  the  emperors,  it  was 
chiefly  by  the  acquisition  of  the  county  of  Ferrette — 
a  locality  situated  in  the  extreme  south  of  Alsace  * — 
that  this  power  was  consolidated.  Ferrette  was  first 
held  by  a  line  of  nobles  originating  with  a  certain 
Frederick,  son  of  Thierry  or  Theodoric  I,  Count  of 

*  Seep.  45,  ante. 


78  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Bar,  Mousson,  and  Montbeliard.  Originally  the  county 
of    Ferrette    included,    besides    that    locality,    both 
Altkirch  and  Thann,  and  some  villages  now  in  Switzer- 
land.    In   the   thirteenth   century   the   lordships    of 
Florimond  and  Rougemont  were  added  to  Ferrette, 
and  subsequently  both  Delle  and  Belfort  passed  to 
the  same  house.     The  fourth  of  its  counts,  a  certain 
Ulrich,  became  involved  in  hostilities  with    one    of 
the   Bishops   of  Strasburg,   to   whom   he   ended   by 
ceding  Thann  and  a  few  other  localities.     The  cession 
was  witnessed  by  Albert  I  of  Austria,  who,  under 
his  father,  the  famous  Emperor  Rudolph,  acted  at 
the  time  as  Landgrave  of  Alsace,  where  the  family 
possessed  some  little  lordships.     Ultimately  Albert  I 
also   became  Holy  Roman  Emperor.     Now  in   1275 
Ulrich  of  Ferrette  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Theobald, 
and  in  1310  by  his  grandson  Ulrich  II,  who  at  his 
death  was  followed  by  his   only  child,   a  daughter 
named  Joan.     She  was  married  to  another  Albert  of 
Austria  (who  did  not  reign  as  Emperor),  and  to  him, 
in   March    1324,    she   conveyed   her   inheritance,    he 
afterwards  styling  himself,  "  Dei  Gratia  Dux  Austrise, 
Landgravius  Alsatiae,  nee  non  Comes  Phirretarum." 
Joan's    marriage    was    a    scandalous    affair,    for    her 
husband    was   notoriously    impotent.     She    favoured 
several  lovers,  by  one  or  another  of  whom  she  had 
three  sons,  named  respectively  Rudolph,  Albert,  and 
Leopold.     In  this  wise  she  transmitted  through  the 
centuries  a  strain  of  bastardy  to  the  Austrian  Imperial 
House.     Joan  was  also  privy,  in  1347,  to  the  poison- 
ing  of  the   Emperor   Louis   (or   Ludwig)   V   of  the 
Bavarian  line.     She  died  in  1351,  her  husband  surviv- 
ing her  for  seven  years,  whereupon  Ferrette  devolved 
upon  her  son  Rudolph.     At  his  death  in  August  1365 
the  county  was  inherited  conjointly  by  his  brothers, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  79 

and  from  them  it  passed  with  its  dependent  lordships 
— Cernay  and  Massevaux  had  been  added  to  them — 
to  others  of  the  house  of  Austria. 

During  the  interregnum  which  followed  the  death 
of  the  Emperor  Albert  II,  Alsace  was  raided  by  bands 
of  soldiery  who  had  previously  been  in  the  pay  of 
the  Count  d'Armagnac  during  his  struggle  with  the 
house  of  Burgundy.  Called  Armagnacs  in  France, 
these  impecunious  mercenaries  became  known  to 
the  Alsatian  peasantry  as  the  Arme  Gecken,  or  "  Poor 
Scamps."  In  1444 — five  years  after  their  first  irrup- 
tion— they  returned  under  the  orders  of  the  French 
Dauphin  (afterwards  Louis  XI),  who  had  engaged  in 
hostilities  with  some  of  the  Swiss.  When  the  latter 
had  been  worsted  at  Saint-Jacques,  it  occurred  to 
Louis'  soldiers  to  pillage  Alsace,  the  Emperor  of  the 
time,  a  certain  Frederick  the  Pacific,  being  virtually 
powerless.  But  the  confederate  Alsatian  towns  rose 
up  against  the  Arme  Gecken,  and  in  1445  compelled 
them  to  evacuate  the  province. 

Twenty-two  years  later  Charles  the  Rash  *  ascended 
the  ducal  throne  of  Burgundy,  and  in  1469  Sigismund, 
a  Duke  of  Austria,  and  a  needy  one,  sold  to  him  the 
Landgraviate  of  Upper  Alsace,  together  with  all 
proprietary  rights  over  the  Sundgau,  Brisgau  (on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Rhine),  the  county  of  Ferrette  and 
its  dependencies,  for  the  sum  of  80,000  florins  in  gold, 
it  being  stipulated  that  the  inhabitants  should  retain 
all  existing  rights  and  privileges,  and,  further,  that 
Sigismund  or  his  heirs  should  be  entitled  to  repurchase 
the  lordships  which  were  thus  ceded.  Charles,  how- 
ever, conceived  the  brilliant  idea  of  immediately 

*  Most  English  writers  call  this  prince  Charles  the  Bold ;  but  Bash  is 
by  far  the  better  term,  for  it  accords  more  closely  i  oth  with  the  French 
appellation  Temeraire  and  with  the  iacts  of  Charles's  career. 


80  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

recouping  himself  for  his  outlay  by  emptying  the 
pockets  of  his  new  subjects,  and  the  exactions  of  his 
deputy,  a  certain  Peter  von  Hagenbach,  were  terrible. 
Strasburg,  Colmar,  Schlestadt,  and  Basle  at  last 
offered  to  raise  enough  money  to  buy  out  Charles 
and  his  rights.  But  the  Burgundian  ruler  rejected 
the  offer,  preferring  to  retain  his  hold  on  Alsace  and, 
at  the  same  time,  bleed  its  people. 

His  envoy  Hagenbach,  to  rid  himself  of  the 
notables  who  resisted  his  oppression,  endeavoured  to 
have  them  murdered,  but  his  plot  being  discovered 
his  person  was  seized,  and  trial  and  sentence  to 
decapitation  followed ;  whereupon  Charles  in  the 
first  place  dispatched  Hagenbach's  brother  to  Alsace 
to  avenge  him,  and  afterwards  proceeded  thither  in 
person.  Some  thirty  localities,  small  towns  and 
villages,  were  pillaged  and  set  on  fire,  but  when 
Charles  turned  upon  the  Swiss  allies  of  the  Alsatians, 
their  memorable  victories  over  him  at  Morat  and 
Grandson  (1476)  gave  him  full  cause  to  regret  his 
impetuous  rashness.  It  is  said  that  Duke  Sigismund 
recovered  his  Alsatian  lordships  after  Charles's  death 
at  the  Battle  of  Nancy,  but  this  is  by  no  means  clear. 
The  preferable  account  seems  to  be  that  Charles's 
only  daughter  and  heiress  Marie  of  Burgundy  brought 
these  Alsatian  possessions,  together  with  the  Free 
County  of  Burgundy  (Franche-Comte),  to  her  husband 
Maximilian  of  Austria,  afterwards  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian I. 

In  those  old  days  Alsace  did  not  suffer  only  from 
the  exactions  of  princes  and  the  irruptions  of  dis- 
orderly soldiery ;  its  own  peasant  folk,  at  times  no 
doubt  with  good  reason,  repeatedly  rose  against  their 
lords.  One  rebellion  of  the  kind  occurred  in  1403, 
and  was  followed  by  others  in  1503,  1513,  and  1525. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  81 

This  last,  the  most  serious  of  all,  was  largely  of  a 
religious  character,  being  connected  with  the  Ana- 
baptist movement  which  spread  to  Northern  Alsace 
£rom  Westphalia  and  the  Netherlands.  Townships, 
villages,  castles,  and  convents  were  attacked,  taken, 
and  pillaged,  and  Duke  Anthony  of  Lorraine  had  to 
intervene  in  order  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  The 
upshot  was  the  Saverne  affair  referred  to  in  a  previous 
chapter  * :  the  peasantry  surrendering,  giving  up 
their  weapons,  and  then  being  massacred — without 
any  regard  for  the  conditions  arrived  at — by  the 
Duke's  bloodthirsty  German  mercenaries. 

The  Reformation  was  received  with  favour  in 
many  parts  of  Alsace.  The  Lutheran  zealots  of 
Strasburg  at  first  failed,  however,  in  their  endeavour 
to  prohibit  the  celebration  of  Mass  at  the  cathedral 
and  other  Catholic  churches,  though,  generally  speak- 
ing, they  gained  the  mastery  in  the  city.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  Sundgau  or  Upper  Alsace,  over 
which  the  Hapsburgs  held  direct  sway,  the  Emperor 
Charles  V  caused  the  Reformation  to  be  put  down 
most  mercilessly.  It  is  said  that  no  fewer  than  six 
hundred  converts  to  the  new  doctrines  were  burnt 
at  the  stake.  Strasburg,  however,  defied  the  Emperor, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  join  the  famous  Protestant 
League  of  Smalkalde,  which  for  political  reasons  was 
aided  and  abetted  by  Catholic  France,  where  Francis  I 
was  reigning.  In  1547  the  League  was  defeated  at 
Mlihlberg,  but  another  eight  years  elapsed  before  the 
Religious  Peace  of  Augsburg  re-established  some 
degree  of  tranquillity.  About  half  a  century  later 
trouble  arose  over  the  Bishopric  of  Strasburg,  two 
would-be  administrators  of  the  see,  which  was  vacant, 
contending  with  one  another  for  the  office  by  force 

*  See  pp.  33,  34,  ante. 

V 


82  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

of  arms.  On  the  one  side  was  John  George  of  Hohen- 
zollern,  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  on  the  other 
Cardinal  Charles  of  Lorraine.  The  so-called  Bishop 
War — bischofliche  Krieg — lasted  for  eight  months, 
during  which  several  Alsatian  towns  and  villages  were 
once  again  sacked  and  fired.  Finally,  on  November  26, 
1604,  a  treaty  was  signed  at  Haguenau  by  which  the 
Hohenzollern  desisted  from  his  claims  in  return  for 
the  payment  of  a  lump  sum  of  money  as  "  indemnity," 
and  an  annual  allowance  for  life  out  of  the  revenues 
of  the  see.  He  was  a  Lutheran,  but,  like  the  Hohen- 
zollern he  also  was,  he  did  not  object  to  pocketing 
Catholic  gold. 

At  last  came  the  famous  Thirty  Years'  War  (1618- 
1648),  due  in  part  to  the  antagonism  of  Protestants 
and  Catholics,  and  in  part  to  the  overweening  ambition 
of  the  house  of  Austria  and  the  apprehensions  which 
this  excited.  It  was  for  the  second  reason  that 
France,  although  governed  by  a  Prince  of  the  Church, 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  took  part  in  the  struggle,  at  first 
more  or  less  covertly  by  supporting  the  Swedish 
King  Gustavus  Adolphus,  but  afterwards  by  direct 
intervention.  At  one  and  another  period  of  the 
contest  Alsace  became  one  of  the  chief  battlefields 
where  all  the  participants  committed  the  issue  to  the 
decision  of  arms.  Nearly  all  the  Alsatian  nobility 
declared  for  the  Protestant  cause,  but  the  province 
generally  was  very  divided,  and  horrible  excesses 
ensued  on  the  part  of  the  rival  combatants.  One  of 
the  first  commanders  on  the  German  Protestant  side, 
Count  Mansfeld,  levied  heavy  contributions  of  war 
on  many  towns,  slaughtered  the  inhabitants  of 
Rosheim,  and  afterwards  destroyed  the  place.  In 
1632  a  Swedish  army  under  Count  Gustavus  Horn, 
after  overruning  a  large  part  of  Lorraine,  penetrated 


ArL  S  A  C  E  -  L  O  R  R  A  I N  E  83 

into  Alsace  where  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  was  holding 
the  town  of  Saverne.  The  Lorrainers,  however,  could 
not  stop  the  Swedes,  who  took  town  after  town,  and 
entering  the  Catholic  Sundgau  butchered  many  (one 
account  says  2000)  of  its  peasantry.  At  last  the 
Catholic  or  Imperial  forces  retained  little  beyond  a 
portion  of  Lower  Alsace,  including  the  town  of 
Haguenau.  In  1634  the  Imperialists  were  beaten  by 
the  Swedes  at  Wattwiller,  and  in  the  same  year 
Bernard  of  Saxe-Weimar  defeated  Duke  Charles  of 
Lorraine  at  the  Champ-des-Boeufs,  otherwise  Ochsen- 
feld,  and  afterwards  occupied  Thann.  In  the  same 
year,  however,  the  Swedes  and  the  German  Protestants 
under  Horn  and  Bernard  of  Weimar  suffered  a  severe 
reverse  at  Nordlingen  in  Bavaria,  where  the  Impe- 
rialists were  commanded  by  the  future  Emperor 
Ferdinand  III  and  Cardinal  Don  Fernando,  an  Infant 
of  Spain. 

After  this  engagement  the  Swedes  found  it  impos- 
sible to  retain  possession  of  the  towns  they  held  in 
Alsace.  They  ceded  them,*  therefore,  temporarily 
to  France,  by  a  treaty  which  was  signed  in  Paris 
that  same  year,  and  which  provided  that  France 
should  transfer  the  towns  in  question  to  Bernard  of 
Weimar  whenever  peace  should  ensue.  It  would 
appear  that  Bernard  was  acknowledged  by  France 
as  Duke  of  Alsace,  but  as  he  died  at  Huningen  in 
1639  the  country  was  never  actually  under  his  full 
control,  though  it  is  true  that  after  he  had  taken 
Brisach  in  1637,  and  defeated  the  Imperialists  at 
Wittenwihr  and  the  Lorrainers  at  Cemay,  he  occupied 
virtually  all  the  territory  excepting  the  towns  which 
Richelieu  had  garrisoned  with  French  troops.  Among 

*  That  is,  with  the  exception  of  Benfeld,  which  the  Swedes  subsequently 
transferred  to  the  Bishop  of  Strasburg. 


84  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

these  towns  was  Saverne,  which  a  force  under  Cardinal 
de  Lavalette  (prelates  had  no  scruples  about  fighting 
in  those  days)  captured  in  1636. 

Hostilities  were  prolonged  for  some  nine  years 
after  the  death  of  Bernard  of  Weimar.  France  took 
a  more  and  more  prominent  part  in  the  great  struggle 
in  order  to  prevent  the  establishment  of  Austrian 
hegemony  over  Europe.  The  Emperor  Ferdinand  II, 
whose  ambition  and  hatred  of  Protestantism  had 
first  lighted  the  torches  of  war,  was  dead,  and  his 
son  Ferdinand  III  reigned  in  his  place.  Gustavus 
Adolphus  had  long  since  fallen  on  the  field  of  Liitzen  ; 
Wallenstein,  his  greatest  adversary,  had  been  assas- 
sinated with  the  connivance  of  his  jealous  sovereign ; 
Horn  was  still  alive,  but  Baner,  the  most  terrible  of 
the  Swedish  commanders,  had  preceded  both  Richelieu 
and  Louis  XIII  to  the  grave.  Louis  XIV  was  but  a 
young  lad,  reigning  under  the  regency  of  his  mother, 
Anne  of  Austria,  who,  in  all  probability,  was  secretly 
married  to  her  principal  Minister,  Cardinal  Mazarin. 
Yet,  though  many  high  and  mighty  personages  had 
joined  the  majority  and  been  replaced  by  others, 
though  millions  of  combatants  and  non-combat- 
ants had  been  slain,  though  scores  of  towns  and 
many  hundreds  of  villages  had  been  sacked  and 
at  times  set  on  fire,  though  countless  acres  of 
fertile  land  lay  waste,  though  burgesses  starved 
beside  their  empty  larders  and  hinds  in  their 
wretched  huts,  the  Great  War,  which  was  to  decide 
whether  the  Hapsburg  (like  the  Hohenzollern  to-day) 
should  or  should  not  be  the  Master  of  Europe,  still 
continued. 

In  Alsace,  by  reason  of  the  conspicuous  and,  one 
may  add,  sanguinary  share  of  the  Swedes  in  the 
struggle  there,  the  war  became  known  particularly 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  85 

as  the  Schwedenkrieg,  and  so  terrible  was  the  deso- 
lation it  brought  with  it,  so  many  and  so  ghastly 
were  the  tales  of  horror  and  infamy  handed  down 
in  later  days  from  father  to  son,  through  successive 
generations,  that  the  memory  of  it  was  still  often 
evoked  in  towns  and  in  villages,  on  the  Rhenish 
plain  and  on  the  Vosgian  slopes,  beside  the  rivulets 
coursing  through  the  sequestered  valleys,  and  in  the 
dim  depths  of  the  great  forest  lands,  even  until  the 
times  in  which  we  ourselves  live.  The  Revolutionary 
and  Napoleonic  Wars  left  no  such  deep  impression 
on  the  bulk  of  the  Alsatians,  though  they  shared  the 
sufferings  of  that  period ;  it  needed  the  Deutschenkrieg 
of  1870  and  all  which  then  occurred  to  bedim  the 
fireside  traditions  lingering  from  the  days  of  the  great 
Swedish- Austrian  contest. 

At  last  the  victories  of  Freiburg  and  Nordlingen 
gained  by  Conde  and  Turenne  over  the  Imperialists 
under  Count  Mercy,  who  fell  in  the  last-mentioned 
battle,  prepared  the  way  for  peace,  though  this  was 
only  finally  concluded  in  1648,  after  years  of  confer- 
ence and  discussion  at  Osnabriick.  The  Treaty  of 
Westphalia  or  Minister,  as  it  is  diversely  called  (it 
was  signed  in  the  old  town  hall  of  Miinster),  provided 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  territories  of  the  North 
German  princes,  gave  them  and  their  subjects  liberty 
of  religion,  and  the  right  to  enter  into  alliances  with 
foreign  States.  Austrian  domination  in  Germany 
thus  received  a  very  severe  check.  With  respect  to 
France,  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  III  ceded  to  King 
Louis  XIV  (then  ten  years  of  age)  the  town  and 
fortress  of  Breisach,*  the  Landgraviate  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Alsace,  the  Sundgau,  inclusive  of  the  county 
of  Ferrette,  all  prefectoral  rights  over  ten  Imperial 

*  See  p.  41,  ante. 


86  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

towns,  and  likewise  transferred  to  him  all  authority 
in  respect  to  the  Bishops  of  Strasburg  and  Basle,  the 
Abbots  of  Lure,  Andlau,  Munster,  etc.,  the  Counts  of 
Fleckenstein  and  Lichtenberg,  and  all  others  of  the 
nobility  who  had  been  immediate  vassals  of  the 
Empire.  Briefly,  the  entire  Hapsburg  suzerainty  over 
Alsace  passed  to  the  Crown  of  France,  the  historic 
rights  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants  being  at  the 
same  time  confirmed  to  them.  Strasburg  was  excepted 
from  the  treaty  (apart  from  the  transfer  of  authority 
over  the  Bishop)  and  remained  a  Free  City  of  the 
Empire  with  its  Republican  constitution.  Further, 
Mulhouse  was  not  included,  as  it  had  become  part  of 
the  Swiss  Confederation. 

Several  clauses  of  the  treaty  were  very  vaguely 
worded,  and  led  to  contestation.  Somewhat  later, 
therefore,  an  instrument  was  signed  at  Osnabriick 
by  which  the  old  Treaties  of  Passau  (1552)  and  Augs- 
burg (1555)  were  confirmed,  in  order  that  there  might 
be  full  liberty  of  conscience  in  Alsace.  With  respect 
to  ecclesiastical  property  it  was  decided  that  each 
party  (Catholic  and  Protestant)  should  retain  what 
it  had  possessed  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1624. 
Such  then  were  the  conditions  under  which  Alsace, 
excepting  Strasburg  and  Mulhouse,  became  a  province 
of  France. 

Nevertheless,  the  settlement  was  not  definitive. 
The  next  of  the  Germanic  Emperors,  Leopold  I,  en- 
deavoured to  upset  it,  and  Alsace  was  invaded  by 
Imperialist  forces.  They  were  expelled  by  Turenne 
after  his  victory  at  Tiirkheim  on  January  5,  1675, 
and  four  years  later  the  Treaty  of  Nimeguen  con- 
firmed France  in  her  possession  of  Alsace.  This  was 
again  confirmed  by  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697, 
and  yet  again  by  the  Treaty  of  Rastadt  in  1714, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  87 

Charles  VI,  the  father  of  the  famous  Maria  Theresa, 
then  having  become  Emperor.  The  Ryswick  Treaty, 
by  the  way,  expressly  confirmed  the  annexation  of 
Strasburg  to  France,  which  had  taken  place  in  1681 
under  circumstances  which  I  shall  soon  narrate. 
With  regard  to  the  county  of  Ferrette,  the  real  source 
of  the  Austrian  dominion  in  Alsace,  the  Bishop  of 
Basle  raised  a  preposterous  claim  to  this  lordship, 
but  in  December  1659,  after  the  Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees, 
Louis  XIV  bestowed  it,  with  Belfort,  Thann,  Alt- 
kirch,  and  Isenheim,  on  Cardinal  Mazarin,  reserving 
to  himself  only  rights  of  sovereignty.  From  Mazarin 
the  seigneuries  in  question  passed  to  his  niece,  Hortense 
Mancini,  and  her  husband,  on  whose  death  in  1713 
they  reverted  to  the  French  Crown. 

Yet  another  matter  of  interest  and  not  without 
importance  must  be  mentioned  here.  At  the  time 
of  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  the  actual  Landgrave 
of  Alsace  under  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  III  was  an 
Austrian  Archduke  named  Ferdinand  Charles,  a  young 
man  of  twenty  or  thereabouts  at  the  date  of  the 
treaty.  In  order  to  compensate  him  for  the  rights 
which  this  instrument  extinguished,  Louis  XIV,  or 
rather  his  Minister,  Mazarin,  offered  to  pay  him  the 
sum  of  three  million  limes  tournois,  which,  as  a  lime 
tournois  was  equivalent  to  about  three-quarters  of  a 
lime  parisis*  must  have  represented  about  £100,000 
of  our  money — a  large  sum  in  those  days.  When  in 
1659  the  Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees  was  signed  between 
France  and  Spain,  Philip  IV,  sovereign  of  the  latter 
country  and  a  Hapsburg  by  his  descent  from  the 
Emperor  Charles  V,  renounced  for  himself  and  his 
successors  all  contingent  claims  on  Alsace  proper, 
the  Sundgau,  and  Ferrette,  and  that  point  being 

*  Livres  of  Tours  and  livres  of  Paris. 


88  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

settled  Mazarin,  on  behalf  of  Louis  XIV,  promised  to 
pay  the  £100,000  to  Archduke  Ferdinand  Charles  in 
five  instalments  to  be  spread  over  a  period  of  three 
years.  The  Archduke  died,  however,  at  Innsbruck, 
in  the  Tyrol,  on  December  30,  1662,  leaving  no  issue 
by  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  Cosmo  II  de'  Medici, 
Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  * ;  and  at  that  date  at 
least  the  bulk  of  the  money  due  to  him  from  France 
had  not  yet  been  paid.  In  December  the  following 
year,  however,  it  was  remitted  to  his  brother  and 
heir,  Archduke  Sigismund  Francis,  who  had  been  a 
party  to  the  covenant ;  and  receipts  for  the  three 
million  lime s  tournois  are  still  preserved  in  the  National 
Archives  of  France.  Thus  all  claims  of  any  descrip- 
tion which  might  have  been  urged  in  respect  to 
Alsace  by  any  member  of  the  Imperial  Family  were 
extinguished,  and  no  prince  of  that  family  ever  after- 
wards assumed  any  Alsatian  title. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  Bishop  of  Strasburg 
protested  against  the  clause  of  the  Treaty  of  West- 
phalia which  virtually  transferred  his  see  from 
Germany  to  France.  The  motive  of  this  protest  may 
be  easily  fathomed.  The  prelate  was  a  member  of 
the  Imperial  family — a  certain  Leopold  William  of 
Austria.  These  Hapsburgs  were  a  very  proud  set 
of  men,  particularly  vain  of  their  lineage  and  the 
rank  to  wrhich  they  had  risen.  Their  descent  cannot 
be  traced  back  writh  exactitude  farther  than  the 
time  of  Albert  the  Rich,  who  was  favoured  by  Frederick 
Barbarossa  in  the  twelfth  century ;  but  although 
several  spurious  genealogies  of  the  house  have  been 
concocted  at  various  periods — some  forgers  connect- 

*  The  mother  of  Ferdinand  Charles  was  also  a  Medici,  married  to  Archduke 
Leopold  V.  The  Austrian  pretensions  to  Tuscany  originated  in  some  of  these 
matrimonial  alliances. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  89 

ing  it  with  the  first  house  of  Lorraine,  others  with 
Etichon,  the  early  Duke  of  Alsace,  others  with  the 
Zaeringen  line,  yet  others  with  the  Pierleoni,  and  one 
with  the  Scipios  of  ancient  Rome — they  are  known 
to  have  existed  about  the  year  1000,  when,  indeed, 
a  scion  of  the  family,  a  certain  Wernher,  became 
Bishop  of  Strasburg.* 

In  the  course  of  centuries  that  see  became  an 
important  one.  Those  who  held  it  were  Prince- 
Bishop-Electors  of  the  Empire,  and  in  the  general 
Diet  occupied  the  tenth  place  (between  the  Bishops 
of  Speyer  and  Constance)  in  the  first  row  of  seats 
allotted  to  the  College  of  Princes.  It  follows  that 
Leopold  William,  Bishop  of  Strasburg  at  the  time  of 
the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  was  by  no  means  inclined 
to  become  a  subject  of  the  French  Crown.  Thus  he 
protested  loudly  against  the  transfer  of  his  benefice, 
and  was  not  pacified  until  His  Most  Christian  but 
very  youthful  Majesty  Louis  XIV — who,  throughout 
his  long  career,  showed  a  great  respect  for  bishops 
unless  they  presumptuously  endeavoured  to  thwart 
his  personal  passions — graciously  signified  that  he 
would  renounce  this  particular  stipulation  in  the 
Treaty  of  Minister,  and  leave  Leopold  William  in  his 
dignity  as  a  Prince  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire. 
Thus,  for  the  time  being,  was  the  matter  settled.  It 
should,  by  the  by,  be  noted  that  the  Cathedral  of 
Strasburg  had  been  turned  long  previously  into  a 
Protestant  church  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  successive 
prelates,  and  that  the  town  of  Molsheim  had  become 
de  facto  the  seat  of  the  episcopal  see. 

*  The  reader  may  be  reminded  that  the  historic  ruined  castle  of  Hapsburg, 
which  would  appear  to  be  of  a  much  later  date  than  the  family's  origin, 
stands  on  the  Walpelsberg  above  Schinznach,  in  the  canton  of  Argovia, 
Switzerland. 


90  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

There  remains  still  one  important  matter  to  be 
mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia, 
one  conveniently  overlooked  by  many  German  writers. 
Alsace,  with  the  exception  of  the  Republics  of  Strasburg 
and  Mulhouse,  became  a  party  to  this  treaty.     The 
Emperor  Ferdinand  vainly  tried  to  prevent  what  he 
regarded  as  an  act  of  presumption.    His  opposition  was 
disregarded.     The  imperial  suzerainty  over  Alsace  had 
long  been  only  nominal.    Thus  a  certain  Dr.  Mark  Otton 
(or  Otto)  was  dispatched  to  Miinster  as  Alsatian  envoy, 
and  signed  the  conventions.     This  fact  clearly  indicates! 
the  willingness  of  the  bulk  of  the  Alsatians  to  become} 
definitely  united  to  France.     I  shall  soon  show  that  in  \ 
course  of  time  Strasburg  and,  subsequently,  Mulhouse  \ 
followed  the  example  of  the  rest  of  the  province. 


IV 
ALSATIAN  HISTORY 

(FROM  THE  PEACE  OF  WESTPHALIA  TO  THE  WAR  OF  1870) 

Strasburg  united  to  France  :  Dietrich  the  Ammeister  :  The  Curious 
Mission  of  the  Count  de  Chamilly  :  The  Convention  between  France 
and  the  Strasburg  Authorities  :  The  Edict  of  Nantes  and  the  Persecu- 
tion of  Dietrich  :  The  Condition  of  Alsace  under  the  Old  Regime  : 
The  Great  Revolution  in  Alsace  :  Schneider  the  Franciscan  :  Commis- 
saries Saint- Just  and  Lebas  :  Mul  house  chooses  French  Nationality : 
The  Napoleonic  Era  in  Alsace  :  The  Bourbon  Restoration  :  The 
Conspiracy  of  Belfort  :  The  Reign  of  Louis  Philippe  :  The  future 
Napoleon  III  at  Strasburg  :  Austrian  Threats  to  seize  Alsace  :  The 
Coup  d'Etat  and  the  Second  Empire  :  Prussia  and  Neufchatel  : 
Bismarck's  Threat  to  Alsace  :  Last  Years  of  the  Second  Empire. 

IN  1672  Germany  and  Spain,  alarmed  by  the  successes 
of  Louis  XIV  in  his  war  with  Holland,  invaded  Upper 
Alsace  and  took  up  winter  quarters  there.  The 
"  Republic  of  Strasburg  "  resolved  to  preserve  neu- 
trality, but  according  to  the  French  this  was  not 
scrupulously  observed,  the  citizens,  it  was  said,  allowing 
the  Imperialists  to  make  use  of  the  bridge  across  the 
Rhine.  Turenne,  therefore,  in  the  course  of  his 
operations  endeavoured  to  seize  a  redoubt  constituting 
a  tete  de  pont,  but  the  burghers  defended  themselves 
so  vigorously  that  the  French  abandoned  the  enter- 
prise, and  Turenne  afterwards  promised  to  respect 
the  town's  neutrality.  He  eventually  drove  the  Im- 
perialists out  of  Alsace  by  his  victories  at  Tiirkheim 
and  Ensisheim,  but  was  killed  on  July  27  that  same 
year — 1675 — by  a  cannon-ball  at  Salzbach.  Montecu- 
culli,  the  Imperialist  commander,  afterwards  inflicted 

91 


92  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

some  reverses  on  the  French,  and  the  German  forces, 
returning  to  Alsace,  besieged  Saverne  and  Haguenau. 
The  great  Conde  at  last  threw  them  across  the  Rhine 
again,  but  before  that  was  accomplished  he  attempted 
some  negotiations  with  Strasburg,  dispatching  thither 
as  his  envoy  a  certain  Marquis  de  Laloubere,  who 
endeavoured  to  induce  the  burgesses  to  transfer  the 
tele  de  pout  to  the  French,  in  order  to  prevent  any 
further  irruption  of  the  enemy  from  across  the  Rhine 
at  this  point. 

The  town's  Ammeister — chief  of  the  guilds  and 
magistrate — was  then  Dominic  Dietrich,  a  Lorrainer 
by  origin,  whom  the  religious  intolerance  of  the  times 
(he  was  a  convinced  Protestant)  had  driven  from 
his  native  town  of  Saint-Nicolas  near  Nancy.  He 
listened  to  Laloubere's  suggestions,  but,  realizing 
that  the  transfer  of  the  tete  de  pout  to  the  French 
might  well  compromise  the  independence  of  Strasburg, 
he  would  not  consent  to  it,  but  assumed  command  of 
the  redoubt  in  person.  Subsequently,  however,  when 
Marshal  de  Crequi  had  succeeded  Conde,  one  of  his 
lieutenants,  the  Baron  de  Montclar,  captured  the 
redoubt  at  Kehl — facing  Strasburg  on-  the  other  side 
of  the  Rhine — and  set  the  bridge  on  fire — this  being 
done  to  prevent  the  Imperialists  from  again  using  the 
bridge  and  to  punish  Strasburg  for  its  alleged  breaches 
of  neutrality  in  that  respect.  At  the  same  time  fresh 
endeavours  were  made  to  win  the  authorities  of  the 
town  over  to  the  French  cause.  The  war  fluctuated 
for  some  while  longer,  but  eventually,  in  1678,  the 
peace  of  Nimeguen  was  signed,  and  Strasburg  thought 
its  cherished  independence  secured. 

Two  years  later  Louis  XIV  instituted  some  special 
chambers  (chambres  de  reunion)  of  the  parlements  of 
Metz,  Brisach,  and  Besan£on,  and  commissioned  them 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  93 

to  inquire  into  the  status  of  the  fiefs,  townships, 
and  landed  estates  of  Alsace,  the  Three  Bishoprics, 
Franche-Comte,  and  French  Flanders — provinces  ceded 
to  his  crown  in  recent  years,  but  where  a  certain 
number  of  nobles,  municipalities,  and  others  still 
claimed  to  be  attached  in  one  or  another  way  to  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire.  An  end  was  put  to  these 
anomalies  in  numerous  instances,  but  the  question  of 
Strasburg  remained.  The  town,  with  the  neighbour- 
ing lands  which  it  owned,  claimed  to  be  independent, 
yet  still  acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  the  Emperor. 
However,  a  certain  Frischmann  was  appointed  French 
Resident  there,  and  gradually  won  the  Bishop  and  the 
Grand  Chapter  over  to  the  side  of  France.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  one  of  the  chief  inducements 
held  out  to  these  ecclesiastics  was  the  restoration  of 
the  cathedral  to  the  Catholic  see.  This — Leopold 
William  of  Austria  having  died  in  1662 — was  now  held 
by  Franz  Egon  von  Fiirstenberg,  who,  in  order  to 
regain  possession  of  property  belonging  to  his  Church, 
proved  much  more  accommodating  than  his  prede- 
cessor. Moreover,  Frischmann,  who  installed  a  chapel 
in  his  house,  gained  over  certain  prominent  Protestants 
of  Strasburg  and  even  induced  them  to  abjure  their 
religion.  Among  these  folk  were  a  certain  Gauzer  or 
Giinzer,  secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  a  man  named 
Obrecht,  whose  father,  having  committed  some  crime 
or  other,  is  said  to  have  suffered  the  extreme  penalty, 
on  which  account  the  son  detested  the  Ammeister 
Dietrich.  The  last  named  had  repeatedly  given  proof 
of  his  desire  to  preserve  the  town's  independence 
unimpaired,  but  he  at  last  entered  into  the  views  of 
those  who  favoured  union  with  France. 

Secret    negotiations    proceeded,    and    meantime, 
ostensibly  for  the   purpose  of  enforcing  certain  de- 


94  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

cisions  of  the  previously  mentioned  chambres  de 
reunion,  Louvois,  who  had  become  Louis  XIV's 
Secretary  of  State,  strongly  reinforced  the  troops 
which  were  garrisoned  in  Alsace  under  the  command 
of  that  same  General  de  Montclar  who  some  years 
previously  had  fired  the  bridge  of  Kehl.  It  may  be 
taken,  I  think,  that  the  reinforcement  of  Montclar's 
troops  was  designed  more  to  provide  for  eventualities 
should  war  ensue  with  Germany  than  to  impose 
surrender  on  Strasburg,  for  there  are  many  indications 
that  Louvois  (however  imperious  his  nature  may  have 
been)  did  not  desire  to  use  force  against  the  town, 
but  wished  to  win  it  over  by  negotiation. 

There  is  a  romantic,  in  some  respects  perhaps 
fabulous,  but  in  any  case  interesting  story  respecting 
the  negotiations,  which  may  be  repeated  here.  Among 
the  French  generals  of  the  time  there  was  a  certain 
Noel  Bouton,  Comte  de  Chamilly,  who  had  fought 
bravely  and  successfully  in  several  campaigns.  He 
was  a  tall,  handsome,  well-built  man,  and  being  at 
one  time  in  Portugal  he  there  attracted  the  attention 
of  a  beautiful  young  nun,  who  addressed  to  him  some 
of  the  most  ardently  passionate  letters  existing  in  the 
epistolary  literature  of  any  nation.  Chamilly  replied 
to  the  young  person  in  an  equally  fervid  strain,  but  as 
he  was  recalled  to  France  the  correspondence  was  not 
of  long  duration.  He  appears  to  have  boasted  about 
his  adventure  on  his  return  home,  and  to  have  shown 
his  inamorata's  effusions  to  his  friends.  Such  was  the 
origin  of  the  famous  "  Lettres  Portuguaises  " — trans- 
lated into  English,  I  believe,  as  the  "  Letters  of  a 
Portuguese  Nun  " — a  few  of  them  being  held  quite 
authentic,  whilst  others  are  regarded  as  concoctions. 
Chamilly  may  well  be  censured  for  circulating  his 
billets-doux,  but  according  to  the  memoirs  of  that 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  95 

venomous  prig,  the  self -admiring  Duke  de  Saint- 
Simon,  he  was  so  grossly  stupid  and  so  ponderously 
beefy  that  it  was  incredible  any  woman  should  ever 
have  loved  him,  or  that  he  should  have  had  any 
talent  at  all  for  warfare.  The  Duke  asserts  that 
Chamilly's  wife  accompanied  him  wherever  he  went 
in  order  to  assist  him  with  her  brains,  but  it  is  quite  as 
likely  that  she  was  extremely  jealous  of  him,  and  did 
not  wish  him  to  succumb  to  the  fascinations  of  any 
other  woman,  Portuguese  nun  or  otherwise.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  one  day  in  1684,  when  Chamilly 
was  without  a  command,  Louvois  sent  for  him,  and 
said  that  he  wished  him  to  go  to  Basle  at  once.  The 
journey  would  take  three  days,  and  on  the  fourth,  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  was  to  repair  to  the 
bridge  spanning  the  Rhine,  and  carefully  note  in 
writing  every  incident  he  might  observe  there,  how- 
ever insignificant  this  incident  might  be.  At  four 
o'clock  he  was  to  take  his  coach  again,  and  return  to 
Versailles  with  the  utmost  dispatch.  At  whatever 
hour  he  might  arrive  Louvois  would  be  ready  to 
receive  him. 

Without  asking  any  questions,  for  he  well  knew 
the  Minister's  disposition,  Chamilly  went  his  way  and 
installed  himself  on  the  bridge  at  Basle.  The  first 
person  whom  he  saw  crossing  it  was  a  woman  carrying 
some  baskets  of  fruit.  Next  a  horseman  rode  by. 
Afterwards  some  ragged  peasants  passed.  Then  came 
some  heavily  laden  porters,  and  at  last,  at  3  p.m.  or 
thereabouts,  a  man  in  yellow  coat  and  breeches 
appeared,  and,  approaching  the  parapet  near  the 
centre  of  the  bridge,  gazed  for  some  minutes  at  the 
water.  At  last,  suddenly  stepping  back,  he  rapped  the 
masonry  three  times  with  a  stout  stick,  and  then 
walked  away.  Later,  other  people,  men  and  women 


96  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  passed  over  the  bridge, 
but  at  four  o'clock  Chamilly's  coach  drove  up  and  he 
sprang  into  it  and  was  soon  rolling  away  from  Basle. 
He  had  noted  down  all  that  he  had  seen,  but  could  not 
imagine  how  any  such  trivial  incidents  could  possibly 
interest  Louvois.  To  his  thinking  either  the  Minister 
had  made  a  fool  of  him,  or  else  something  which  it  was 
thought  he  would  witness  had  not  occurred. 

Nevertheless  he  carried  out  all  his  instructions. 
It  was  nearly  midnight  on  the  third  day  when  he 
reached  Versailles,  but  he  at  once  waited  upon  Louvois, 
who  received  him  eagerly,  and  without  asking  any 
questions  hastily  perused  the  notes  which  had  been 
jotted  down  on  the  bridge.  When  the  Minister  came 
to  the  account  of  the  man  in  yellow  he  raised  an 
exclamation  of  delight,  and  although  the  King  had 
retired  some  time  previously  he  went  to  his  apartments, 
caused  him  to  be  awakened,  and  told  him  that  the 
authorities  of  Strasburg  were  willing  to  come  under 
his  rule,  but  wished  it  to  appear  that  they  surrendered 
to  force. 

One  is  led  to  infer  from  this  story,  not  altogether 
unworthy  of  the  great  Dumas,  that  the  man  in  yellow 
was  Gauzer  or  Giinzer,  the  secretary  of  the  Senate  of 
Strasburg,  who  is  known  to  have  quitted  the  town 
about  this  time  on  a  so-called  "  mysterious  journey." 
Apprehensive  of  the  many  German  spies  in  Alsace,  he 
was  unwilling  to  have  any  interview  there  with  a 
French  emissary,  and  therefore  proceeded  to  Basle  to 
signify  in  an  indirect  but  prearranged  manner  that 
the  principle  of  French  sovereignty  was  accepted. 
For  the  rest,  the  town  laid  down  its  owrn  terms,  which 
with  certain  reserves,  none  of  great  importance,  were 
accepted  by  France.  In  Appendix  B  to  this  volume 
will  be  found  the  full  text  of  the  "  Articles  proposed  by 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  97 

the  Praetors,  Consuls,  and  Magistrate  of  the  Town  of 
Strasburg,"  with  the  annotations  and  reserves  of  the 
French  plenipotentiaries,  who  were  Louvois  and  General 
de  Montclar. 

The  former,  in  order  to  conduct  the  final  negotia- 
tions, repaired  in  all  haste  to  Alsace,  and  installed 
himself  at  Hlkirch,  a  few  miles  south  of  Strasburg, 
in  an  old  pargeted,  high-roofed  house,  with  peaked 
corner  turrets,  which,  I  believe,  still  exists.  Some 
points  of  interest  in  connexion  with  the  historical 
document  given  in  the  Appendix  may  be  discussed 
here.  A  certain  discrepancy  in  dates  will  be  observed. 
At  the  outset  the  t<k  articles  "  are  said  to  have  been 
proposed  on  September  30,  1681.  That  is  not  so. 
September  30  was  the  date  when  the  final  ratifica- 
tion by  Louis  XIV  was  signified,  the  date  when 
the  convention  became  really  binding;  and  it  was 
doubtless  for  this  reason  that  it  was  prefixed  to  the 
text  I  give.  But  the  Proposals  were  made  by  the 
authorities  of  Strasburg  twenty  days  previously. 
Above  the  signatures  appear  the  words  :  "  Done  at 
Illkirch,  September  10,  1681."  In  the  preamble 
Louvois  and  Montclar  promise  the  royal  ratification 
within  ten  days'  time,  but  it  must  have  been  delayed, 
as  it  seems  to  have  been  formally  announced  only  on 
the  30th. 

Another  point  is  this  :  If  the  authorities  of  Stras- 
burg desired  the  French  to  make  a  show  of  force  it  was 
to  save  their  faces  in  various  respects.  There  was, 
first,  the  fear  of  drawing  upon  the  town  the  resent- 
ment of  Germany,  for,  although,  as  I  have  shown, 
Strasburg  had  possessed  for  three  centuries  and  more 
a  constitution  which  practically  made  it  independent, 
it  still  ranked  as  a  Free  City  of  the  Empire,  and  held, 
municipally  as  well  as  ecclesiastically,  certain  lands 


98  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine — that  is,  in  what  may 
be  well  called  German  territory.  One  could  hardly  ex- 
pect, then,  that  the  Emperor  (at  that  time  Leopold  I) 
would  view  with  equanimity  Strasburg's  incor- 
poration with  France.  He  might  even  declare  war, 
and,  as  I  previously  remarked,  if  Montclar  had  a 
strong  force  of  troops  at  his  disposal  it  was  largely 
to  enable  that  eventuality  to  be  met.  A  great  army 
was  not  required  for  the  sole  purpose  of  blockading 
Strasburg. 

Further,  the  authorities  of  the  town  desired  to 
save  their  faces  in  respect  to  those  of  their  own  com- 
patriots who  did  not  wish  to  sever  the  German  con- 
nexion. It  is  certain  that  many  people  were  per- 
plexed respecting  the  best  course  to  pursue.  Ques- 
tions of  race,  manners  and  customs,  and  religion 
tended  to  divide  opinion.  In  the  first  respect  it 
should  be  said  that  the  Alsatians,  generally,  never 
identified  themselves  with  the  Germans  dwelling  across 
the  Rhine.  They  applied  to  the  latter  the  same 
contemptuous  appellation  of  Schwab  which  one  finds 
prevailing  still  to-day  among  the  Magyars  of  Hungary. 
They,  the  Alsatians,  were  a  mixed  breed  in  which 
Celtic,  Roman,  and  other  elements  were  blended  with  a 
Germanic  one.  In  the  last  named,  moreover,  there 
existed  a  Frankish  strain,  differing  in  various  respects 
from  other  German  strains.  It  may  be  said  of  the 
Dutch  and  the  Flemings  that  they  belong  more  or  less 
to  the  Germanic  family  of  races,  yet  are  not  Germans, 
and,  indeed,  generally  resent  being  likened  to  them. 
Much  the  same  remark  may  be  applied  to  the  Alsatians, 
whose  affinities,  particularly  in  Upper  Alsace,  linked 
them  more  to  the  German  elements  of  the  Swiss 
population  than  to  the  people  of  Germany  proper. 
German  invasions  and  German  domination  had 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  99 

undoubtedly  left  their  mark  upon  Alsace,  but  its 
inhabitants  retained  distinct  characteristics  of  their 
own.  I  shall  have  something  to  say  about  their 
various  dialects  in  another  chapter,  here  I  need  only 
mention  that  Alsatian  German  was  by  no  means 
readily  understood  across  the  Rhine. 

With  respect  to  the  position  at  the  time  of  the 
incorporation  of  Strasburg  with  France  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  what  most  tended  to  divide 
public  opinion  was  religion,  on  which  subject,  both 
among  Catholics  and  among  Protestants,  much  in- 
tolerance prevailed.  The  question  of  uniformity  of 
religion  was  then  still  largely  regarded  by  communities 
as  being  more  important  than  that  of  nationality,  a 
man's  nationality  often  being  determined  by  his  creed. 
It  is  well  known  that  many  French  Protestants  left 
their  country  and  became  foreigners  long  before  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Now  both  the 
Emperor  and  the  King  of  France  were  Catholics,  but 
whilst  there  were  several  powerful  Protestant  Princes 
in  Germany,  there  was  none  in  France,  where,  more- 
over, the  rights  and  privileges  conferred  on  Protestants 
by  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  that  act  of  wisdom  emanating 
from  Henri  IV,  had  been  gradually,  but  steadily, 
curtailed  by  his  grandson  Louis  XIV.  That  must 
have  appeared  ominous  to  the  Alsatian  Protestants, 
but  although  since  the  Peace  of  Westphalia  prose- 
lytism  had  been  practised  in  their  midst,  in  an  in- 
creasing degree,  by  the  Catholic  clergy  and  others, 
and  although  the  favours  of  Louis  XIV's  officials  went 
generally  to  Catholics,  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  so  far  any  governmental  interference  with  religious 
liberty  in  Alsace.  Protected  as  they  were  by  the 
solemn  treaties  of  Minister  and  Osnabriick,the  Alsatian 
Protestants  can  hardly  have  imagined  that  before 


100  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

long  their  right  to  worship  as  they  pleased  would  be 
very  seriously  threatened. 

Yet,  on  the  whole,  from  the  religious  standpoint  the 
question  whether  Strasburg  should  belong  to  France 
or  to  Germany  was  a  perplexing  one  for  many  of  its 
burghers.  The  officials  who  negotiated  with  Louvois 
must  have  realized  that  in  any  case  the  French  would 
desire  to  restore  the  cathedral  to  the  Catholic  clergy. 
It  will  be  observed  that  in  Clause  III  of  the  town's  Pro- 
posals this  edifice  is  not  specifically  mentioned  among 
the  ecclesiastical  buildings  of  which  the  Protestants 
wished  to  retain  possession.  Louvois'  annotation  to 
this  clause  is  designed  to  make  the  question  of  the 
cathedral's  future  quite  clear. 

Whilst  Strasburg  at  that  time  contained  partisans 
of  France  and  partisans  of  Germany,  there  were  also 
many  folk  who  wished  the  town  to  retain  its  indepen- 
dence unimpaired.  Dietrich,  the  Ammeister,  had  long 
been  one  of  them,  but  the  recent  wars  had  shown 
how  very  difficult  it  was  for  such  a  comparatively 
small  community  to  ensure  respect  for  its  neutrality 
amidst  the  contentions  of  great  powers.  In  that 
connexion  one  cannot  help  thinking  of  Belgium 
and  all  her  cruel  misfortunes. 

I  have  said  enough  to  show  the  reader  that  all 
sorts  of  reasons — the  fear  of  German  enmity  and  of 
possible  protests  on  the  part  of  citizens  influenced  by 
considerations  of  religion  and  independence — com- 
bined to  induce  the  Strasburg  authorities  to  require 
on  the  French  side  a  show  of  force,  which  would  make 
it  appear  that  they  yielded  to  sheer  necessity.  For 
the  rest,  the  Proposals  of  the  town's  representatives 
prove  how  jealously  they  provided  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  old  constitution,  religious  liberty,  the  old 
privileges,  rights,  and  revenues.  At  no  moment  was 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  101 

there  any  question  of  an  unconditional  sitfrencler, 
and  historians  have  again  and  again  misrepresented 
the  facts  by  asserting  that  Strasburg  was  seized  in 
an  arbitrary  fashion  and  in  defiance  of  all  right. 

The  proposals  of  Illkirch  having  been  submitted  on 
September  10,  and  sent  with  Louvois'  annotations  to 
Louis  XIV  for  ratification,  matters  remained  virtually 
in  stain  quo  until  the  night  of  the  27th,  by  which  time, 
probably,  the  ratification  had  arrived.  In  any  case 
it  was  then  that  various  detachments  of  Montclar's 
troops  invested  that  part  of  Strasburg' s  fortifications — 
a  redoubt — which  was  nearest  to  the  Rhine,  and  seized 
the  tele  de  pont.  On  the  following  day,  apparently, 
some  of  the  soldiers  entered  the  town.  There  wrere 
cannon  on  the  ramparts,  but  no  attempt  was,  or  could 
be,  made  to  use  them,  for  the  authorities  had  carefully 
kept  the  gunpowder  under  lock  and  key,  in  order  to 
prevent  any  impulsive  burghers  from  endeavouring  to 
resist  the  entry  of  the  French.  Finally,  on  September 
30,  the  royal  ratification  of  the  Illkirch  Proposals  was 
delivered  to  the  town  officials.  Thus  Strasburg  passed 
to  the  Crown  of  France. 

Louis  XIV  is  said  to  have  arrived  there  on  the 
ensuing  October  23,  when,  it  would  appear,  the  cathe- 
dral was  handed  over  to  the  Bishop*  ;  but  Edouard 
Siebecker,  a  prominent  Alsatian  writer  of  the  last 
generation,  tells  us  that  the  King  only  saw  the  town 
from  the  outside,  being  unwilling  to  enter  it  on  account 
of  the  religious  stipulations  contained  in  the  conven- 
tion. If  that  be  correct,  the  King's  attitude  already 
foreshadowed  future  trouble.  The  municipality  of 
course  continued  in  office,  but  a  royal  military  governor 
was  appointed,  the  post  being  assigned  to  the  M.  de 

*  Franz  Egon  von  Fiirstenberg,  who   was  succeeded  in    1685  by  his 
brother  Wilhelm. 


102  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Chamilly  whose  more  or  less  authentic  expedition  to 
Basle  the  reader  will  remember.  About  the  same 
time  the  genius  of  Vauban  was  requisitioned  to 
strengthen  and  increase  the  city's  fortifications. 
Those  then  existing — they  were  the  work  of  a  skilful 
local  engineer  named  Daniel  Speckle — were  already 
considerable,  but  Vauban  added  to  them  and  built 
the  citadel.  There  is  a  story  that  some  time  after- 
wards a  German  spy  came  to  Strasburg  to  ascertain 
what  the  new  defences  might  be  like.  Chamilly  is 
said  to  have  guessed  his  mission,  and  to  have  shown 
him  over  every  bastion  and  casemate,  after  which  he 
wished  him  a  bon  voyage,  saying :  "  Now,  monsieur, 
on  your  return  to  your  master,  the  Emperor,  you  will 
be  able  to  tell  him  that  Strasburg  is  henceforth 
impregnable  !  " 

It  may  well  have  been  so  in  those  days.  What- 
ever we  may  think  of  Vauban' s  many  fortifications 
now,  when  the  art  of  warfare  has  undergone  such 
vast  changes,  they  were  the  most  perfect  of  their 
kind  in  the  age  to  which  this  man  of  genius  belonged, 
and,  indeed,  they  rendered  good  service  for  a  long 
time  afterwards.  To  Vauban  was  allotted  the  great 
task  of  making  all  the  frontiers  of  France  secure,  and 
according  to  his  scheme  Lille,  Metz,  and  Strasburg 
became  three  mainstays  of  the  country's  defence. 
He  built  the  fortresses  of  Huningen  and  Belfort  to 
check  any  invasion  coming  from  the  direction  of 
Basle  ;  Phalsbourg  was  designed  to  close  the  northern 
defiles  of  the  Vosges  ;  the  works  of  Landau,  then  a 
French  possession,  were  an  answer  to  those  of  Philipps- 
burg;  whilst  those  of  Ney's  birthplace,  Sarrelouis— 
filched  by  the  Prussians  in  1815 — protected  the  gap 
in  the  frontier  between  the  Vosges  and  the  Moselle. 
Central  Europe  became  alarmed  by  Vauban's  activity, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  103 

rumours  of  war  again  arose,  particularly  as  the  Em- 
peror felt  extremely  sore  on  the  subject  of  Strasburg; 
but  a  truce  was  patched  up  at  Ratisbon,  and  was 
to  have  lasted  for  twenty  years,  during  which  the 
Empire  agreed  to  leave  the  capital  of  Alsace  in  the 
possession  of  France.  As  we  shall  see,  however,  the 
truce  was  only  a  brief  one. 

In  1685  Louis,  yielding  to  the  combined  influence 
of  his  wife  La  Maintenon,  whom  he  had  married 
secretly  the  previous  year,  his  reverend  father  con- 
fessor, and  his  Chancellor,  Louvois'  father,  capped 
all  the  previous  mistakes  of  his  reign  by  a  more 
stupendous  one.  To  the  lasting  detriment  of  the 
French  nation  he  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  The 
Alsatian  Protestants  still  imagined  themselves  pro- 
tected by  the  covenants  of  Minister  and  Osnabriick, 
but  the  royal  intendant,  a  man  named  La  Grange,  as 
fanatically  bigoted  as  was  his  master,  did  his  utmost 
to  extirpate  "  heresy."  Moreover,  shoals  of  Jesuits 
and  Capuchins  descended  on  the  province,  scoured 
the  countrysides,  and  frightened  whole  villages  into 
abjuration,  in  such  wise  that  before  very  long  the 
proportion  of  Protestants  in  Alsace  dwindled  from 
two-thirds  to  a  quarter  of  the  population.  Many 
folk  emigrated  to  Switzerland  and  some  even  to 
Germany. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revocation,  Dietrich,  the 
Ammeister  of  Strasburg,  was  summoned  to  Versailles. 
It  was  known  that  he  had  contributed  powerfully  to 
the  town's  incorporation  with  France.  His  example, 
in  giving  up  the  idea  of  independence,  had  then 
exercised  the  greatest  influence  on  many  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  But  he  was  a  sturdy  Protestant,  and  if 
Versailles  so  particularly  desired  that  he  should 
abjure  his  religious  faith  it  was  in  the  hope  that  his 


104  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

example  in  this  respect  would  again  influence  the 
people  of  Strasburg  to  follow  in  his  steps.  Promises 
were  made  to  him,  and  when  promises  failed  threats 
were  tried,  but  nothing  moved  him.  At  last  the 
exasperated,  bigoted  King  caused  him  to  be  interned 
at  Gueret  (Creuse  department),  and  there,  in  physical 
and  mental  suffering,  he  spent  four  weary  years. 
When  he  was  allowed  to  return  to  Strasburg  it  was 
only  on  the  strict  condition  that  he  should  not  stir 
from  his  house,  and  that  he  should  see  nobody  except- 
ing the  members  of  his  own  family.  In  this  seclusion 
he  had  to  remain  until  1692,  at  which  time  he  was 
seventy-two  years  old.  More  liberty  was  then  allowed 
him,  but  on  March  9,  1694,  he  passed  away.  In  such 
wise  were  old-time  fanatical  and  tyrannical  kings  only 
too  apt  to  treat  those  to  whom  they  were  indebted  for 
signal  services. 

By  revoking  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  however, 
Louis  XIV  had  once  more  lighted  the  torch  of  war. 
In  1686,  at  the  instigation  of  our  Dutch  William, 
the  famous  Augsburg  League  was  formed.  Many 
German  Princes  entered  it  as  well  as  the  Empire  and 
Spain  and  Sweden.  Hostilities  did  not  begin  until 
two  years  later,  but  they  were  only  terminated  in 
1697  by  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick,  which  instrument,  by 
the  way,  confirmed  the  French  King  in  the  possession 
of  Strasburg  as  well  as  the  other  parts  of  Alsace — 
Mulhouse  still  excepted.  Later,  during  the  same 
reign,  came  the  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession  (1701- 
1714),  during  which  the  Imperialists  again  penetrated 
into  some  parts  of  Alsace,  besieged  and  took  Haguenau, 
and  levied  heavy  contributions  until  they  were  ex- 
pelled by  Marshal  Villars. 

In  spite  of  wars  and  religious  persecutions  the 
material  prosperity  of  Alsace  increased  in  Louis  XIV's 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  105 

time.*  Commerce  expanded  considerably  during  the 
ten  years  which  elapsed  between  the  Dutch  and  the 
Augsburg  wars,  and  among  the  aristocracy,  the 
upper  bourgeoisie,  and  people  of  the  educated  classes 
generally,  when  these  were  Catholics,  French  ideas, 
tastes,  and  customs  became  more  and  more  diffused, 
the  literature  of  the  grand  siecle  being  particularly 
in  great  request.  Only  the  narrow,  bigoted  policy  of 
the  King  prevented  a  similar  movement  among  the 
Alsatian  Protestants.  In  the  circumstances  they  were 
constrained  to  remain  apart,  and  in  their  semi-seclu- 
sion the  use  of  Germanic  dialects  and  the  practice  of 
more  or  less  Germanic  customs  persisted. 

With  respect  to  religious  matters  Louis  XV's  reign 
brought  only  one  change  of  any  importance,  and  that 
was  more  of  a  political  character  than  anything  else. 
By  the  Peace  of  Ryswick  the  see  of  Strasburg  had 
been  separated  from  the  Empire,  the  Bishop  ceasing 
to  exercise  any  jurisdiction  over  the  see's  tempor- 
alities on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine  ;  but  in  1724, 
when  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  was  chief  Minister  in 
France,  an  arrangement  was  arrived  at  with  the 
Empire  by  which  the  prelate  was  re-established  in  the 
aforesaid  jurisdiction,  with  the  right  to  sit  and  vote 
in  the  Diet  by  virtue  of  his  German  possessions.  An 
extraordinary  state  of  affairs  again  ensued.  On  the 
one  hand  the  Bishop  was  and  remained  a  member  of 
the  French  Episcopacy,  on  the  other  he  was  at  the 
same  time  a  Prince-Bishop-Elector  of  the  Empire. 
The  anomaly  was  increased  by  the  fact  that  since  1704 

*  At  an  early  period  of  his  reign  Louis  XIV  substituted  for  the  archducal 
regency  of  Ensisheim  a  royal  Council  at  Brisach,  whose  judgments  were 
sovereign.  In  1698  this  Council  was  transferred  to  Colmar.  Its  decrees 
began  as  follows :  "  We,  the  Governors  and  Councillors  of  the  Council  of 
Alsace  and  the  Lands  dependent  thereon,  as  established  by  His  Most  Christian 
Majesty  the  King  of  France  and  Navarre,  hereby  signify  and  decree,"  etc. 


106  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  Bishop  of  Strasburg  had  been  Armand  Gaston  of 
Rohan-Soubise,  who  by  birth  and  lineage  had  no 
connexion  whatever  with  Germany.  Until  the  French 
Revolution  the  Strasburg  bishopric  became,  as  it  were, 
a  family  fief  of  the  Rohans,  for  three  more  of  them 
followed  Armand  Gaston,  the  last  being  the  Cardinal 
who  was  involved  in  the  Diamond  Necklace  scandal. 
Thus  four  members  of  this  famous  Breton  house 
became  ex-officio  Electors  of  the  Empire. 

The  year  1741  brought  with  it  the  war  of  the 
Austrian  Succession  and  an  irruption  of  wild  Hun- 
garian cavalry  into  Alsace.  The  "  Pandour  alarm  " 
(Pandurenldrm)  scared  many  of  the  villagers,  but 
when  Menzel,  who  commanded  these  barbaric  horse- 
men, issued  a  manifesto  peremptorily  summoning  the 
Alsatians  to  return  to  their  allegiance  to  the  Empire 
they  stoutly  refused  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  On 
the  contrary,  when,  in  1744,  Marie  de  Mailly-Nesle, 
Duchess  of  Chateauroux — the  one  worthy  woman 
among  the  many  mistresses  of  Louis  XV — prevailed 
on  him  to  bestir  himself  and  assume  the  command  of 
his  armies,  he  was  received  in  Alsace  as  in  Lorraine 
with  the  utmost  enthusiasm.  The  sufferings  and  the 
discontent  brought  about  by  the  religious  policy  of  the 
Crown  were  at  once  forgotten,  and  all  combined  in 
wishing  success  to  France.  In  those  days,  even  when 
no  war  was  being  waged,  a  considerable  garrison  was 
kept  in  Alsace  on  account  of  its  situation  as  a  frontier 
province  liable  to  attack.  The  presence  of  many 
French  troops,  their  intercourse  with  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  frequency  with  which  young  Alsatians  en- 
listed— preferably  in  cavalry  regiments,  for  although 
the  region  was  never  noted  for  its  horses  its  men 
evinced  great  proficiency  in  horsemanship — all  tended 
to  the  diffusion  of  French  ideas  and  promoted  assimila- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  107 

tion.  The  troops  were  under  the  command  of  a 
governor-general  who  resided  at  Strasburg,  and  was 
generally  a  Marshal  of  France.  Marshal  Saxe  held 
the  position  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  succeeded 
by  such  men  as  Contades,  Broglie,  Stainville,  and 
Rochambeau,  the  last  named  Lafayette's  associate 
in  the  American  War  of  Independence. 

Under  the  old  regime  the  French  peasantry  suffered 
terribly  throughout  the  whole  kingdom,  the  middle 
class,  or  Third  Estate,  was  also  heavily  taxed,  and 
possessed  few  if  any  rights,  these  being  reserved  for 
the  nobles  and  the  clergy.  Favouritism,  corruption, 
shameful  abuses,  denials  of  justice  flourished  on  all 
sides,  and  Alsace  did  not  escape  the  common  lot. 
But  its  people  were  a  hard-working,  thrifty,  energetic 
race,  and  contrived  to  endure  their  burdens  better 
than  the  folk  of  some  other  provinces.  Under  an 
official  named  Klinglin,  Strasburg  prospered  exceed- 
ingly in  industry  and  commerce  during  several  years 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  somebody  discovered 
one  day  that  this  admired  praetor,  to  whom  the 
flourishing  state  of  the  municipal  finances  was  attri- 
buted, had  embezzled  large  sums  of  money,  which  he 
was  alleged  to  have  shared  with  one  of  the  powerful 
D' Argensons,  who  were  Ministers  of  State  at  that  time. 
I  am  uncertain  as  to  the  identity  of  the  particular 
statesman  involved  in  Klinglin's  affair,  but  in  any 
case  he  was  beyond  the  reach  of  the  irate  burgesses  of 
Strasburg.  They  were,  however,  able  to  arrest  the 
less  fortunate  praetor,  who  was  cast  into  prison  and 
eventually  executed  by  strangulation. 

Now  and  again,  at  this  period,  Strasburg  became 
the  scene  of  sundry  fetes  and  rejoicings.  In  1747  it 
welcomed  to  France  the  Dauphiness  Marie  Josephe  of 
Saxony,  who  became  the  mother  of  Louis  XVI,  and 


108  THE    TRUE   STORY    OF 

in  like  way  in  1770  it  received  that  future  monarch's 
bride,  Marie  Antoinette.  After  the  accession  of  the 
last  King  of  the  old  regime  the  greater  equity  and 
tolerance  shown  to  the  Alsatian  Protestants — an  edict 
restored  their  civil  rights  in  1787 — tended  to  increase 
the  province's  prosperity.  At  the  Peace  of  West- 
phalia, which,  it  will  be  remembered,  followed  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  only  250,000  inhabitants  were  left 
in  Alsace  and  the  sum  total  yielded  by  the  Crown  taxes 
was  but  £48,000,  paid  with  the  greatest  difficulty  after 
incessant  toiling  and  moiling.  A  hundred  and  forty 
years  later — that  is,  in  1789  on  the  eve  of  the  Revolution 
— notwithstanding  all  the  losses  caused  by  many  more 
wars  and  much  religious  persecution,  the  population 
had  doubled,  and,  according  to  Spach,  one  of  the 
Alsatian  historians,  the  people  were  able  to  pay 
£360,000  in  taxation  annually,  "  not,"  be  it  said, 
"  without  complaining,  but  at  least  without  being 
absolutely  crushed  by  the  burden."  The  amount 
mentioned  represented  in  a  time  of  great  general  cost- 
liness and  penury  fully  £l  per  head  for  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  of  the  classes  subject  to  Crown 
taxation — nobles,  clergy,  and  others,  including  certain 
municipalities,  like  that  of  Strasburg,  being  exempted 
from  such  payment.* 

As  was  the  case  in  other  parts  of  France,  the  heavy 
taxation,  and  the  exactions  and  immunities  of  the 
privileged  classes,  constituted  a  very  bitter  grievance 
among  the  lower  orders,  and  it  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  to  find  that  when  the  States  General  of 
1789  were  convoked,  the  cahiers  of  the  Alsatian  Third 
Estate  embodied  a  suggestion  that  Alsace  should  be 
restored  to  full  independence.  Throughout  the  pro- 
vince generally — as  in  Lorraine — the  first  events  of 

*  See  Clause  VI  of  the  Proposals  of  Ulkirch  in  Appendix  B. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  109 

the  Revolution  were  enthusiastically  received  by  the 
masses.  But  various  disorders  occurred.  When  the 
news  of  the  taking  of  the  Bastille  reached  Strasburg 
a  mob  invaded  the  town  hall  and  pillaged  it.  One 
must  acknowledge  that  the  old  constitution  of  the 
town,  so  highly  praised  by  Erasmus,  was  one  of  a  very 
exclusive  kind,  under  which  the  so-called  "  common 
people  "  had  hardly  any  rights  at  all,  and  it  was  this 
undoubtedly  which  fomented  rioting  and  pillage. 
Much  satisfaction  was  evinced  when  Jean  Frangois 
Rewbell,  one  of  the  Alsatian  representatives  in  the 
States  General,  demanded  the  suppression  of  feudal 
and  ecclesiastical  privileges ;  and  after  the  "  Night 
of  August  4,"  when  the  States,  gathered  together 
as  a  Constituent  Assembly,  abolished  those  privi- 
leges, the  old  semi-feudal,  semi-aristocratic  corpo- 
ration of  Strasburg  realized  that  its  time  was  up, 
and  resigned  office.  A  temporary  administration  was 
then  installed,  and  a  force  of  National  Guards,  that 
all  but  inevitable  accompaniment  to  Revolution, 
established. 

Nevertheless  extremist  passions  did  not  yet  pre- 
vail. Early  in  1790  came  municipal  elections,  which 
resulted  in  the  selection  of  Baron  Philippe  Frederic  de 
Dietrich,  Count  of  the  Ban  de  la  Roche,  as  mayor. 
He  was  probably  a  kinsman,  if  not  a  descendant,  of  the 
Dominique  Dietrich  of  Louis  XIVs  time.  An  expert 
in  mineralogy,  he  had  previously  acted  as  a  Royal 
Commissary  for  mines,  smelting-works,  and  forests. 
I  had  occasion  to  mention  him  in  connexion  with 
Rouget  de  1'Isle  and  the  "Marseillaise."*  Die- 
trich was  a  friend  of  Lafayette  and  Bailly,  mayor  of 
Paris,  and  like  them  he  favoured  a  Constitutional 
Monarchy,  his  opinions  in  which  respect  brought  him 

*  See  p.  30,  ante. 


110  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

eventually  to  the  scaffold  in  spite  of  the  considerable 
services  which  he  rendered  in  Alsace. 

In  June  1790  he  presided  at  a  great  fete  held  to 
inaugurate  the  so-called  Federation  of  the  Rhine, 
when  20,000  armed  men  assembled  at  Strasburg,  and 
when  all  the  authorities  took  a  solemn  oath  to  be 
faithful  to  the  Nation,  the  Law,  and  the  King,  and 
to  defend  the  new  Constitution  which  had  been  set 
up.  Later  the  National  Assembly's  decree  ordering 
the  sequestration  of  all  ecclesiastical  property  led  to 
great  unrest  among  the  Alsatian  Catholics,  and  matters 
became  worse  when  the  prelates,  priests,  and  others 
who  refused  to  take  the  oath  to  the  so-called  Civil 
Constitution  of  the  Clergy  were  deprived  of  their 
benefices.  The  Cardinal  de  Rohan,  Bishop  of  Stras- 
burg, fled  across  the  Rhine  to  Ettenheim,  a  German 
dependency  of  his  diocese,  and  afterwards  busied 
himself  there  in  collecting  recruits  for  the  army  of 
emigres  who  proposed  to  put  down  the  Revolution.* 
At  Strasburg  Rohan  was  replaced  by  a  certain  Abbe 
Brendel,  who  took  the  oath  of  obedience,  and  became 
indirectly  responsible  for  many  horrible  things  which 
afterwards  occurred  in  the  town. 

There  was  a  dearth  of  priests  willing  to  accept  the 
Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy,  and  it  occurred  to 
Brendel  to  import  a  number  from  Germany.  Among 
those  who  came  was  a  certain  Eulogius  Schneider, 
born  in  the  vicinity  of  Wiirzburg,  then  an  ecclesiastical 
principality  and  now  in  the  Bavarian  dominions. 
Schneider  had  originally  been  a  Franciscan,  and  was 
endowed  with  a  gift  of  fiery  eloquence.  Before  long, 
however,  he  threw  off  the  mask  of  religion  and  became 
a  leader  of  the  extremists. 

Different  elections  of  those  times  show  that  a 

*  Rohan  died  at  Ettenheim  in  1803. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  111 

moderate  Constitutionalism  was  largely  favoured  in 
Alsace,  and  particularly  in  its  capital.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  no  lack  of  patriotism,  and  when  on 
April  20,  1792,  war  was  declared  on  Austria,  Dietrich 
at  once  set  to  work  to  organize  defensive  measures 
against  any  possible  attack  on  the  Alsatian  capital. 
But  events  occurred  which  he  and  others  would  not 
countenance.  Immediately  after  the  Parisian  insur- 
rection of  August  10,  which  led  to  the  imprisonment 
of  Louis  XVI  and  his  family,  the  municipality  of 
Strasburg  voted  an  address  to  the  Government, 
demanding  that  the  King's  person  should  be  regarded 
as  inviolable.  A  few  days  later  four  commissaries 
arrived,  suspended  the  audacious  municipality  from 
office,  and  ordered  the  arrest  of  Dietrich.  He,  how- 
ever, contrived  to  escape  to  Basle,  where  he  remained 
for  a  time  in  safety.* 

Finding  Constitutionalism  so  much  in  favour  at 
Strasburg,  the  Government  transferred  the  elections 
for  the  National  Convention  to  Haguenau.  The  pace 
of  the  Revolution  was  then  accelerated,  and  for  a 
time  the  foreign  menace  became  serious.  In  July 
1793  the  Prussians  and  Austrians  under  Brunswick 
and  Wiirmser,  after  retaking  Mayence  from  the 
French,  entered  Alsace.  The  forces  under  Custine 
and  Beauharnais  (Josephine's  first  husband)  had  to 
retreat.  The  famous  lines  of  Wissembourg,  which  had 
once  saved  France  from  invasion,  were  abandoned, 
and  the  enemy  drove  the  defeated  troops  within 
gunshot  of  Strasburg.  Great  became  the  alarm  there. 

*  He  subsequently  returned  to  France,  and  on  being  arraigned  before 
the  Tribunal  of  Besan9on  as  an  emigre,  was  acquitted.  His  enemies,  however, 
contrived  to  have  him  removed  to  Paris,  where  he  was  sentenced  to  death 
by  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  executed  on  December  29,  1793.  After 
Robespierre's  fall  seven  months  later,  the  National  Assembly  rehabilitated 
his  memory. 


112  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

It  was  alleged  that  the  Germans  had  confederates  in 
the  town,  and  it  is  certainly  true  that  at  this  time  a 
number  of  emigre  noblemen  returned  to  Alsace  and 
welcomed  the  invaders  as  deliverers. 

Elogius  Schneider,  the  ex-Franciscan  whom  I  pre- 
viously mentioned,  now  served  as  Public  Prosecutor 
(Accusateur  public)  at  the  local  Revolutionary  Tribunal, 
and  played  on  the  smaller  stage  of  Strasburg  much 
the  same  part  as  Fouquier-Tinville  played  on  the 
larger  one  of  Paris.  He  had  previously  become  the 
leader  of  a  German  Jacobin  gang  which  had  selected 
Alsace  as  a  suitable  field  for  its  exploits.  Besides 
perorating  at  the  Jacobin  clubs,  Schneider  founded 
a  news-sheet  entitled  the  Argus,  and,  allying  himself 
for  a  while  with  a  Savoyard  Jacobin  named  Monet 
and  a  French  one  known  as  Laveau,  who  edited  a 
paper  called  the  Courrier  Fran$ais,  he  steadily 
undermined  the  authority  of  Dietrich  even  before  the 
affair  of  the  address  calling  for  royal  inviolability.  As 
Public  Prosecutor  Schneider  cast  off  all  restraint, 
demanding  and  obtaining  whatever  banishments,  im- 
prisonments, and  executions  he  desired,  but  even  as 
he  sent  others  to  the  guillotine,  so  was  he  himself  at 
last  committed  to  the  swift  offices  of  that  busy 
instrument. 

Soon  after  the  "  suppression  of  Christianity  "  and 
the  pompous  celebration  at  Strasburg  of  the  Feast  of 
Robespierre's  "  Goddess  Reason "  (November  20, 
1793) — that  masquerade,  be  it  remembered,  was  by  no 
means  confined  to  Paris — a  split  occurred  between 
the  French  and  the  German  Jacobins.  The  latter 
were  alleged  to  be  in  collusion  with  emigre  nobles,  and 
judging  by  what  is  known  of  the  German  character, 
even  in  the  case  of  pseudo-Socialists,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  the  charge  was  true.  Now  at  this  time 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  113 

two  Commissaries  attached  by  the  Convention  to  the 
Army  of  the  Rhine  arrived  at  Strasburg.  They  were 
zealous  partisans  and  particular  friends  of  Robespierre, 
one  being  the  famous  Louis  de  Saint-Just,  who 
perished  by  the  guillotine,  and  the  other  Joseph 
Lebas,  who  only  escaped  a  similar  fate  by  shooting 
himself.  In  order  to  provide  some  money  for  arrears 
of  pay  due  to  the  Rhine  army  and  for  putting  Stras- 
burg in  a  better  state  of  defence,  they  levied  nine 
million  limes — approximately  £360,000— on  the  richer 
inhabitants,  who  had  to  provide  the  amount  within 
four  and  twenty  hours ;  and  at  the  same  time  they 
ordered,  at  Schneider's  instigation,  the  arrest  of  about 
forty  persons. 

However,  Monet,  the  Savoyard,  now  mayor  of  the 
town,  intervened,  and  nearly  half  of  the  arrested 
people  were  released,  whilst  Schneider,  whom  Monet 
and  others  denounced,  was  committed  to  prison. 
Various  Alsatian  writers  praise  Saint- Just  for  what  he 
did  in  these  matters.  It  was  decided  to  send  Schneider 
to  Paris,  but  before  his  departure  he  underwent  what 
was  termed  exposition  on  the  scaffold,  being  pinioned 
to  a  stake,  affixed  to  which,  above  his  head,  was  a 
placard  stating  that  he  had  "  dishonoured  the  Revolu- 
tion." On  being  tried  by  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
in  the  capital,  he  was  charged  with  having  made 
excessive  use  of  the  guillotine  besides  evincing  aris- 
tocratic tastes  and  tendencies.  He  was  ultimately 
executed  on  April  1,  1794. 

At  Strasburg  a  new  Tribunal,  in  wrhich  French 
Jacobins  became  prominent,  was  instituted.  Its 
methods  differed  little  from  those  of  its  predecessor. 
Monet  became  all-powerful,  and  waged  war  on  Ger- 
man Jacobins.  The  recall  of  Saint- Just  and  Lebas, 
and  later  the  fall  of  Robespierre,  altered  the  situation. 


114  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Foussedoire,  the  next  Government  representative, 
released  many  prisoners.  Monet  was  removed  from 
the  mayoralty  and  replaced  by  Bernard  of  Tiirkheim. 
Reaction  followed  a  period  of  excesses,  and  in  1795 
the  Jacobin  party  was  defeated  at  the  elections  for  the 
new  legislature — that  is,  the  Conseil  des  Anciens  and 
the  Conseil  des  Cinq-Cents — all  the  members  for  the 
Lower  Rhine  being  moderate  Republicans,  whilst  the 
Upper  Rhine  department  returned  former  Conven- 
tionnels  who  had  voted  against  Robespierre.  Thus 
does  the  world  go  round,  though,  notwithstanding  all 
the  teachings  of  the  past,  the  extremists  of  to-day 
appear  to  be  unaware  of  it. 

Rewbell  the  Alsatian  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Directory  entrusted  with  the  government  of 
France,  and  contended  in  favour  of  democratic,  but 
not  extremist,  principles.  He  was  a  party  to  the 
coup  d'etat  of  the  Eighteenth  Fructidor  (September  4, 
1797)  directed  against  the  more  reactionary  members 
of  the  Councils,  and  became,  with  Barras  and  Lare- 
velliere-Lepeaux,  one  of  the  Triumvirate  which  after- 
wards exercised  supreme  power.  But  the  regime 
proved  deplorable.  The  French  arms  suffered  nume- 
rous reverses,  and  the  State  was  reduced  to  bank- 
ruptcy. In  Alsace  the  period  was  marked  by  one 
notable  event — Mulhouse  at  last  severed  the  ties 
which  linked  her  to  Switzerland  and  joined  the 
French  Republic. 

For  many  centuries  the  little  town  had  formed, 
with  some  adjacent  territory,  a  self-governing  repub- 
lican State,  sometimes  in  close  alliance  with,  sometimes 
virtually  incorporated  in,  the  Swiss  Confederation  ; 
and,  generally  speaking,  it  had  only  taken  part  in 
Alsatian  affairs  when  its  own  interests  were  in  ques- 
tion. Its  commercial  intercourse  with  France,  though 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  115 

small,  was  constant,  and  its  relations  with  the  French 
authorities  were  generally  satisfactory.  Its  inhabi- 
tants cordially  detested  the  Germanic  Empire,  and 
in  1744,  when  Louis  XV  was  besieging  Freiburg  im 
Breisgau,  they  dispatched  a  deputation  to  the  castle 
of  Miinzingen,  then  his  head-quarters,  in  order  to 
compliment  him.  In  like  way  they  sent  deputations 
to  Strasburg  to  compliment  the  Dauphinesses 
Marie  Joseph e  and  Marie  Antoinette  on  their  arrival 
in  French  territory,  and  in  1777,  three  years  after 
the  accession  of  Louis  XVI,  they  concluded  a  de- 
fensive military  alliance  with  France  and  Switzer- 
land. 

In  1785,  however,  trouble  arose.  The  empirical 
Calonne  became  Controller  of  French  Finances,  and 
projecting  the  formation  of  a  new  Compagnie  des 
Indes,  he  prohibited  the  importation  of  foreign  cotton 
goods.  This  threatened  to  nip,  almost  in  their 
infancy,  the  cotton  manufactures  of  Mulhouse,  which 
since  the  establishment  of  the  Koechlin,  Schmalzer, 
and  Dollfus  works  in  1746  had  been  gradually  expand- 
ing. The  negotiations  with  the  French  authorities 
did  not  prove  satisfactory,  and  Mulhouse  again  drew 
closer  to  Switzerland.  Local  restlessness  and  im- 
poverishment followed  the  outbreak  of  the  French 
Revolution.  In  1789,  by  reason  of  severe  frosts,  the 
wine  crop  failed  throughout  Alsace.  In  the  following 
year  the  harvest  failed,  and  grain  and  flour  could 
scarcely  be  obtained  by  the  citizens  of  Mulhouse,  for 
the  Alsatian  roads  became  unsafe,  and  wagons 
conveying  cereals  were  often  pillaged  by  famished 
peasants.  The  French  authorities,  moreover,  alarmed 
by  the  shortage  in  their  own  territory,  drew  a  cordon 
of  barriers  round  about  the  little  republic,  and  in  one 
way  or  another  subjected  it  to  various  vexations,  so 


116  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

that  it  seemed  at  last  as  if  nothing  could  either  come 
in  or  go  out. 

Mulhouse  appealed  to  her  Swiss  friends,  through 
whose  offices  some  negotiations  ensued,  the  upshot 
being  a  draft  treaty  by  which  she  was  to  be  allowed 
free  communication  with  Alsace  on  condition  that  all 
stipulated  duties  should  be  paid  on  the  goods  which 
she  might  send  into  French  territory.  This  draft  or 
preliminary  treaty  was  signed  on  September  22,  1791. 
But  events  were  moving  rapidly  in  France,  urgent 
matters  were  crowding  one  upon  another,  the  sorely 
shaken  monarchy  was  tumbling  faster  and  faster  to 
its  doom,  and  so  the  little  affair  of  Mulhouse  was 
neglected,  virtually  forgotten.  Briefly,  the  treaty  was 
never  ratified.  On  the  contrary,  indeed,  barely  six 
weeks  after  the  proclamation  of  the  French  Republic 
(September  21,  1792)  Mulhouse  was  declared  foreign 
territory,  in  such  wise  that  no  foodstuffs  could  be 
obtained  from  France  without  payment  of  heavy 
export  duties. 

Matters  went  from  bad  to  worse.  There  was  great 
scarcity  in  most  parts  of  Europe.  Virtually  every 
nation  had  to  husband  its  resources.  In  1794  the 
people  of  Mulhouse  had  to  pay  seventy  limes  per 
viertel — perhaps  one  might  say  66s.  per  quarter— 
for  wheat.  That  may  not  seem  so  very  high  a  price 
judged  by  present  standards,  but  account  must  be 
taken  of  the  purchasing  power  of  money  and  its 
scarcity  in  those  days.  At  last  Mulhouse  succeeded 
in  obtaining  some  grain  from  Swabia,  by  way  of 
Switzerland,  but  its  inhabitants  lived  in  constant 
anxiety,  hoping  vainly  for  better  times.  Further 
efforts  were  made  to  negotiate  a  satisfactory  com- 
mercial treaty  with  France,  but  the  Directory  did  not 
prove  responsive.  Yet  matters  could  not  remain  as 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  117 

they  were  ;  something  had  to  be  done  if  Mulhouse 
was  to  be  extricated  from  its  extremely  difficult 
position. 

The  State  Syndic  at  that  time  was  Josue  Hofer, 
and  the  Burgomaster  his  relation  Johannes  Hofer,  and 
these  two  and  a  few  others  appear  to  have  put  their 
heads  together  and  to  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  would  be  best  to  take  the  same  course  as 
Strasburg  had  taken  a  hundred  and  seventeen  years 
previously,  and  exchange  independence  for  union  with 
France.     France  had  long  been  their  chief  customer, 
and   from   France   they   had   derived   most   of  their 
supplies,  and  all  the  barriers  which  had  since  arisen 
in  those  respects  would  necessarily  disappear  should 
Mulhouse  become  French  territory.     She  could  not 
claim  to  retain  her  ancient  organization,  as  Strasburg 
had  retained  hers  for  a  hundred  years  or  so  ;  for  times 
had  changed,  and  the  French  Republic  had  cast  most 
ancient  things  to  the  winds.     It  would  therefore  be 
necessary    to    come    under    her    new    administrative 
methods.     For  the  older  men  it  was  doubtless  painful 
to   relinquish   the   independence   and   the   somewhat 
narrow  social  system  transmitted  to  them  by  their 
forefathers,  and  to  which  they  themselves  had  been 
accustomed  all  their  lives.     On  the  other  hand,  the 
change   would   mean   reunion   with   all  their  fellow- 
Alsatians  who  had  adopted  a  like  course  ;    and  to  the 
younger    ones    this    change    signified    emancipation, 
extension  of  opportunity,  a  general  broadening  of  life, 
participation  in  the  destinies  of  a  great  nation  which 
—in  despite  of  many  blunders,  many  acts  of  folly, 
even  of  madness  and  occasionally  of  savagery — had 
sowed  in  the  course  of  its  Revolution  and  was  still 
sowing,    however    much    its    rulers   might   flounder, 
precious  seeds,  which,  in  days  to  come,  would  yield  a 


118  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

real  increase  of  liberty  and  a  vast  improvement  of 
social  conditions  in  many  lands. 

The  general  Council  and  the  Committee  of  Forty 
presiding  over  the  destinies  of  the  little  republic  were 
assembled,  and  the  advisability  of  becoming  united  to 
France  was  discussed.  The  only  conditions  specified 
appear  to  have  been  exemption  from  the  conscription, 
then  newly  established  by  the  Directory,*  from 
requisitions,  and  from  the  obligation  of  billeting  troops 
until  after  the  next  general  peace.  On  those  terms 
97  members  of  the  assembly  voted  for  union  with 
France,  only  5  votes  being  recorded  against  it.  On 
the  morrow  (January  4,  1798)  the  decision  was 
confirmed  by  a  general  assembly  of  burgesses  at  the 
Church  of  Saint-Etienne,  when  591  pronounced  in  its 
favour  and  15  against  it.  An  Alsatian  of  Colmar 
afterwards  came  to  Mulhouse  as  French  Commissary 
to  assist  in  adapting  the  local  municipal  arrangements 
to  the  French  system.  The  formal  ceremony  of 
annexation  took  place  on  March  10,  and  in  the 
historical  museum  of  the  town  there  was  formerly 
preserved  a  tricolour  hanging  used  on  this  occasion 
and  bearing  the  inscription :  "  The  Republic  of 
Mulhouse  reposes  on  the  bosom  of  the  French 
Republic." 

At  that  time,  says  an  Alsatian  writer,  the  town 
had  38  streets,  800  houses,  and  6000  inhabitants.  If 
material  prosperity  be  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  such  an 
action  as  the  incorporation  of  Mulhouse  with  France, 
then  that  action  was  a  wise  one.  Less  than  fifty 
years  afterwards  the  town  had  so  expanded  that  it 

*  The  Directory's  Conscription  Law  was  very  unpopular  throughout 
France,  where  voluntary  enlistment  had  previously  prevailed,  and,  in  con- 
junction with  the  forced  Loan  and  the  military  reverses  of  the  time,  facilitated 
the  overthrow  of  the  regime  by  Napoleon  on  his  return  from  Egypt.  Those 
who  hoped,  however,  that  he  might  abolish  conscription  were  soon  undeceived. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  119 

counted  over  20,000  inhabitants,  and  every  day  some 
7000  working  folk  repaired  to  it  from  neighbouring 
villages.* 

The  accession  of  Napoleon  to  the  Consulate  was 
welcomed  in  Alsace.  The  re-establishment  of  religion 
pleased  both  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant  elements. 
The  Concordat  with  Pius  VII  was  signed  in  1801,  and 
the  Protestant  Church  was  recognized  by  a  law  passed/ 
early  in  the  following  year,  its  ministers  being  at  first 
trained  in  a  kind  of  seminary,  though  later  a  faculty 
of  Protestant  theology  was  established  at  Strasburg. 
Laws  extending  and  regulating  primary  and  secondary 
education  proved  very  beneficial.  Great  services  were 
rendered  in  educational  matters  by  the  Marquis  de 
Lezay-Marnezia,  a  native  of  Savoy,  who  became 
Prefect  of  the  Lower  Rhine  department.  He  began 
life  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  old  regime,  and 
after  contriving  to  survive  the  Reign  of  Terror  became 
a  protege  of  Josephine,  who  ultimately  brought  him  to 
Napoleon's  notice.  Possessed  of  literary  gifts,  Lezay- 
Marnezia  wrote  on  a  number  of  political  questions, 
translated  Schiller's  "  Don  Carlos,"  and  edited  a 
volume  of  apophthegms  and  epigrams  extracted  from 
the  writings  of  Cardinal  de  Retz.  Apart  from  those 
matters,  he  took,  like  the  many-sided  man  he  was,  a 
keen  interest  in  agriculture  and  industry.  He  intro- 
duced the  cultivation  of  sugar-beet  into  Lower  Alsace, 
as  well  as  improved  methods  for  cultivating  and 
treating  tobacco,  from  which  Strasburg  derived  much 
benefit.  He  was  also  a  great  road-builder,  and  he 
widely  encouraged  the  planting  of  fruit-trees.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  functionaries  of  his  class  that  served 
Napoleon,  and  certainly  the  administration  of  Lower 
Alsace  was  never  in  better  hands.  I  am  uncertain 

*  See  also  pp.  22,  23,  43,  44,  ante. 


120  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

whether  the  first  Restoration  confirmed  him  in  his 
post,  but  he  died  at  Strasburg  from  the  effects  of  a 
carriage  accident  in  October  1814,  when  Napoleon 
was  at  Elba. 

The  Great  Captain's  victories  inspired  no  little 
enthusiasm  among  the  Alsatians.  Many  of  his  lieu- 
tenants came  from  that  province  and  the  adjacent  one 

f  Lorraine.  The  names  of  Ney,  Lefebvre,  Victor, 
eber,  Lasalle,  Drouot,  Rapp,  Kellermann,  Lobau, 
hramm,  live  in  history,  and  there  were  numerous 

thers,  equally  brave  and  devoted,  and  sometimes 
almost  as  able  although  less  renowned.  When  after 
the  Battle  of  Leipzig  the  Austrians,  Prussians, 
Bavarians,  and  Russians  crossed  the  Rhine  and  in- 
vaded France,  several  of  the  Alsatian  and  Lorrainer 
fortresses  staunchly  resisted  the  enemy,  and  none 
more  desperately  than  Huningen,  defended  by  the 
heroic  Barban^gre.  But  the  star  of  the  Emperor  set, 
and  even  at  his  first  downfall  in  1814  greedy  Prussia, 
who  had  never  had  any  connexion  with  Alsace, 
impudently  laid  claim  to  the  province  as  the  price  of 
her  services.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Great 
Britain  and  Russia  combined  to  resist  Prussia's 
covetous  demands  and  defeated  them.  In  1815, 
however,  the  predatory  Hohenzollerns  contrived  to 
secure  a  part  of  the  Saar  valley,  and  Landau  passed 
to  Rhenish  Bavaria. 

Apart  from  those  losses  the  Bourbons  came  to 
their  own  again.  The  first  years  of  the  Restoration 
were  unhappy  ones  in  Alsace.  Foreign  troops  occu- 
pied most  of  the  province.  The  harvests  of  1816  and 
1817  were  scanty  ones.  Many  food-stuffs  and  other 
necessaries  reached  exorbitant  prices.  Moreover,  the 
Alsatians,  with  their  liberal  ideas,  had  little  liking  for 
the  Bourbons,  who  during  the  years  of  their  eclipse 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  121 

had  learnt  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing.  Besides, 
now  that  the  King  was  restored,  many  members  of 
the  Catholic  clergy  became  unduly  arrogant,  imagin- 
ing that  they  might  henceforth  do  as  they  pleased. 
The  Protestants  were  not  exactly  persecuted,  but 
they  were  snubbed  and  cold-shouldered,  particularly 
in  the  time  of  the  bigoted  Charles  X,  by  a  zealous 
officialdom.  The  trend  of  public  opinion  during  the 
Restoration  is  shown  by  the  election  of  one  of  the 
chief  Liberal  leaders  of  the  period,  Benjamin  Constant, 
as  deputy  for  Strasburg,  and  by  the  boundless 
enthusiasm  with  which  another  one,  General  Foy,  was 
received  when  he  visited  Alsace. 

Other  circumstances  tended  to  confirm  the  Alsa- 
tians in  their  Liberal  views,  which,  it  would  be  idle 
to  deny  it,  were  sometimes  tinged  with  Bonapartism, 
kept  alive  by  the  numerous  half-pay  officers  of 
Napoleon's  armies  who  had  been  virtually  exiled  to 
the  province.  In  those  days  Belfort  was  included  in 
the  Upper  Rhine  department.  It  belonged,  indeed, 
to  Alsace,  and  if  so  far  I  have  only  occasionally 
referred  to  it  in  this  narrative,  it  is  because  I  prefer 
to  reserve  a  fuller  account  until  I  relate  in  a  sub- 
sequent chapter  the  circumstances  under  which  this 
fortress  town  was  retained  by  France  at  the  annexa- 
tion of  1871.  Here,  however,  it  may  be  stated  that 
in  1821,  Louis  XVIII  reigning,  Belfort  became  the 
chief  scene  of  a  conspiracy  which  had  ramifications  at 
Mulhouse,  Neuf-Brisach,  Huningen,  and  other  places. 
The  movement,  directed  against  the  Bourbons,  was 
both  of  a  semi-Liberal  and  a  semi-Bonapartist  cha- 
racter. Members  of  the  wealthy  Kcechlin  family  of 
Mulhouse  were  concerned  in  it  and  assisted  it  finan- 
cially. Various  Liberal  parliamentary  leaders,  such 
as  Manuel  and  Dupont  de  FEure,  the  famous  jour- 


122  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

nalist  Armand  Carrel,  the  brothers  Scheffer,  the 
painters,  and  General  de  Lafayette  were  likewise 
privy  to  the  affair  ;  but  in  other  respects  the  contem- 
plated rising  was  prepared  chiefly  by  former  officers 
of  Napoleon.  Scores  of  them,  in  all  parts  of  Alsace, 
made  ready  during  the  last  months  of  1821  to  join 
the  rising,  and  a  large  number  of  soldiers,  belonging 
notably  to  the  garrisons  of  Neuf-Brisach  and  Belfort5 
could  be  relied  upon  for  support. 

Some  of  the  forces  were  to  seize  and  hold  the 
passes  of  the  Vosges,  and  others  were  to  march  on 
Colmar,  then  the  capital  of  the  Upper  Rhine,  arrest 
the  royal  authorities  there,  and  use  the  town  as  a 
centre  for  future  action.  Now  on  the  evening  when 
the  rising  was  to  take  place  a  number  of  the  half-pay 
officers  concerned  in  the  affair  dined  together  at 
Belfort.  Many  of  the  soldiers  of  the  garrison  knew 
or  guessed  that  something  was  coming  off  that  very 
night,  and  some  of  them  even  got  ready  to  co-operate 
with  the  leaders  of  the  plot.  But  a  non-commissioned 
officer  blundered  badly  by  going  to  inform  a  royalist 
captain,  who  was  not  in  the  secret,  that  the  men  were 
ready.  The  captain  was  momentarily  puzzled,  but 
ended  by  divining  the  truth,  and  then  hurried  off  to 
inform  the  Commandant  de  place,  who,  after  a  short 
delay,  ordered  the  town  gates  to  be  closed.  Mean- 
time, however,  the  chief  conspirators  realized  that  the 
plot  was  discovered  and  took  to  flight.  Lafayette, 
Armand  Carrel,  Henry  Scheffer,  the  painter,  and  others 
were  expected  to  reach  Belfort  that  night,  and  some 
of  those  who  escaped  from  the  town  hastened  to 
intercept  them,  and  warn  them  to  turn  back.  This 
was  done,  Lafayette,  who  was  met  at  Lure,  making 
the  return  journey  to  Paris  with  the  utmost  speed  in 
order  that  it  might  appear  as  if  he  had  never  left  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  123 

city.  Briefly,  all  the  real  leaders  escaped,  and  the 
Commandant  of  Belfort  could  only  lay  hands  on  two 
officers  and  two  civilians,  each  of  whom  was  sentenced 
to  five  years'  imprisonment.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  failure  of  the  conspiracy  was  due  largely  to  the 
dilatoriness  of  Lafayette,  who  ought  to  have  reached 
Belfort  sooner. 

The  affair  had  a  tragic  sequel.  In  1820  one  of 
Napoleon's  former  officers,  who  had  quitted  the  army, 
but  was  still  known  as  Colonel  Caron,  had  been 
acquitted  on  a  charge  of  conspiracy  tried  by  the 
Chamber  of  Peers,  and  had  then  retired  to  Colmar, 
where,  after  the  collapse  of  the  Belfort  plot,  he 
devised  a  scheme  for  delivering  the  prisoners.  He 
was  denounced,  however,  arrested  and  sent  to  Stras- 
burg.  His  connexion  with  the  army  had  been  severed, 
nevertheless  he  was  court-martialled  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot.  This  sentence  was  carried  into  effect  on 
October  1,  1822,  and  Caron's  remains  were  interred 
in  the  Strasburg  cemetery  of  Saint-Urbain,  outside 
the  former  Porte  d'Austerlitz,  where,  after  the  fall  of 
the  elder  Bourbon  line,  a  stone  was  set  up  bearing 
the  inscription  :  "  Here  lies  Lieutenant-Colonel  Caron 
who  died  for  Liberty."  *  Both  the  method  of  his 
trial  and  his  execution  had  a  bad  effect  on  public 
opinion.  It  was  held  strongly  that  he  ought  to  have 
been  arraigned  before  a  civil  court,  which  would  have 
shown  more  leniency.  Briefly,  although  there  were 
no  disturbances,  the  general  dislike  of  the  Bourbon 
regime  was  accentuated  by  this  affair. 

Charles  X  was  even  less  popular  than  his  brother 
Louis  XVIII.  Nevertheless,  when  he  visited  Stras- 

*  His  Christian  names  were  Augustin  Joseph,  and  he  was  forty-eight  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  had  fought  in  several  engagements,  but  his 
military  career  was  somewhat  obscure. 


124  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

burg,  Colmar,  and  Mulhouse  in  September  1828,  he 
had — quite  apart  from  the  official  celebrations — a 
very  good  reception,  which  was  due,  perhaps,  to  the 
circumstance  that  eighty-four  years  had  elapsed  since 
a  King  of  France  had  shown  himself  in  Alsace,  though 
Napoleon,  of  course,  had  often  passed  that  way. 
Charles  X  seldom  if  ever  did  the  right  thing  when 
great  issues  were  at  stake,  but  in  small  matters  he 
not  infrequently  showed  to  advantage.  Thus,  on 
being  warned  that  he  would  find  Mulhouse  a  hotbed 
•  of  Republicanism,  he  replied  :  "In  that  case  I  must 
not  take  a  military  escort  with  me."  And  he  abstained 
from  doing  so.  The  incident  pleased  the  people  of 
Mulhouse,  who,  after  cheering  the  monarch,  remarked 
to  one  another  that,  all  considered,  he  was,  perhaps, 
less  black  than  he  had  been  painted. 

The  Revolution  of  1830  and  the  accession  of 
Louis  Philippe  seemed  to  promise  a  genuinely  liberal 
regime,  and  so  the  new  King  was  well  received  when 
he  visited  Alsace  the  following  year.  But  discontent 
was  soon  rife,  and  was  fostered  by  the  heavy  taxation 
of  the  times.  Not  only  were  there  frequent  demon- 
strations in  favour  of  the  more  democratic  leaders, 
but  Strasburg  became  the  scene  of  more  than  one 
little  conspiracy.  It  was  probably  a  recollection  of 
the  military  Imperialist  plots  of  Restoration  days 
that,  in  the  autumn  of  1836,  prompted  young  Prince 
Louis  Napoleon  —  subsequently  Napoleon  III  —  to 
choose  the  Alsatian  capital  for  an  attempt  to  proclaim 
the  Empire  with  the  help  of  the  garrison.  The  affair 
proved  a  fiasco,  and  was  dealt  with  so  promptly  by 
the  authorities  that,  according  to  the  diary  of  a 
Strasburg  citizen  now  before  me,  the  general  public 
knew  nothing  about  it  until  three  days  afterwards, 
when  it  was  reported  that  Louis  Napoleon,  Colonel 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  125 

Vaudrey  of  the  4th  Artillery,  and  a  few  other  persons, 
including  the  Prince's  mistress,  Mme.  Gordon,  were 
under  arrest  in  the  local  house  of  detention.  Some 
of  the  confederates,  including  Fialin,  afterwards  Duke 
de  Persigny,  managed  to  escape.  The  Prince,  says 
the  diarist  I  have  mentioned,  lodged  in  the  Rue  des 
Orphelins,  next  door  to  the  Brasserie  des  Quatre- 
Vents,  and  a  search  made  in  his  rooms  resulted  in  the 
discovery  of  powder,  cartridges,  and  uniforms,  as  well 
as  a  pair  of  general's  epaulets.  Mme.  Gordon's 
lodging  was  at  No.  17  Rue  Fontaine,  where  she 
passed  under  the  name  of  Brown.*  The  only  officer 
who  openly  sided  with  the  Prince  was  Vaudrey, 
whom  I  have  mentioned,  but  it  was  five  o'clock  on 
a  bleak  morning  when  Louis  Napoleon  harangued  the 
artillerymen  at  their  barracks,  and  thus,  apart  from 
the  colonel,  who  was  privy  to  the  affair,  the  officers 
were  still  lying  snugly  in  bed.  Some  of  the  soldiers 
cheered,  but  others  wavered,  and  the  linesmen  of  the 
26th  Regiment  would  not  join  the  movement,  so  that 
the  attempt  collapsed.  Louis  Napoleon  was  pardoned 
by  Louis  Philippe  on  consenting  to  go  to  America 
(where  he  remained  for  as  short  a  time  as  possible), 
and  the  eleven  days'  trial  of  his  accomplices  in  the 
ensuing  month  of  January  resulted  in  their  acquittal. 
They  were  defended  by  some  notable  Parisian  advo- 
cates, in  whose  honour,  I  observe,  a  banquet  was 
given  by  a  number  of  the  leading  people  of  Strasburg. 
This  shows  that  Bonapartism  was  by  no  means 
there. 

The  system  of  elementary  education  in  Alsace  was 
again  improved  in  1837,  and  the  French  language 
spread  more  and  more  widely.  This  period  was  also 

*  I  have  given  various  particulars  about  this  woman  in  my  book,  "  The 
Court  of  the  Tuileries,  1852-70."     (Chatto  and  Windus.) 


126  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

one  of  many  improvements  in  means  of  communica- 
tion. The  first  Alsatian  railway  line — that  from 
Thann  to  Mulhouse — was  opened  in  1839.  Two  years 
later  came  one  from  Strasburg  to  Basle,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  line  from  Paris  to  Strasburg  was 
begun.  In  1834  the  Rhone  and  Rhine  Canal  was 
inaugurated,  being  soon  followed  by  that  of  the 
Marne  and  the  Rhine  and  a  branch  canal  connecting 
the  Rhone  waterway  with  the  111.  Meantime  there 
was  still  a  certain  amount  of  unrest  and  some  un- 
pleasant bickering  between  Alsatian  Catholics  and 
Protestants.  A  writer  named  Busch  was  prosecuted 
for  producing  a  book  which  the  Jesuits  regarded  as 
libellous,  but  a  Strasburg  jury  acquitted  him. 

In  1846  the  question  of  Russian  Poland  came  to 
the  front  in  several  countries,  considerable  feeling 
being  displayed,  particularly  in  France,  respecting 
the  deportation  of  many  Poles  to  Siberia.  Prince 
Metternich,  then  seventy-three  years  old,  was  still 
governing  the  various  races  of  Austria  with  stubborn 
despotism,  and  Galicia  being  part  of  Poland,  he 
thought  fit  to  intervene  apropos  of  the  agitation 
which  was  taking  place  in  France.  He  commissioned 
Count  Apponyi,  Austrian  Ambassador  in  Paris,  to 
inform  Guizot,  then  Louis  Philippe's  chief  Minister, 
that  if  this  agitation  did  not  cease,  Austria  would 
forcibly  reannex  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  Germany. 
Metternich's  threats,  being  divulged,  provoked  violent 
protests  from  Strasburg  and  the  other  Alsatian  towns. 
Nevertheless,  the  Austrian,  German,  and  Russian 
Press  embarked  on  a  campaign  of  calumny,  declaring 
that  the  French  were  not  entitled  to  raise  any  Polish 
question  as  they  treated  the  Alsatian  people  with 
abominable  cruelty !  There  was  not  one  word  of 
truth  in  that  assertion  ;  and  towards  the  end  of  1846 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  127 

a  German  writer  named  Biedermann,  a  professor  at 
Leipzig  University,  published  a  book  on  Alsace,  which 
he  had  repeatedly  visited,  and  had  the  fairness  and 
courage  to  declare  that  no  cruelty  whatever  was 
shown  to  the  inhabitants,  whom  he  had  found 
perfectly  satisfied  with  their  French  nationality. 

Considerable  discontent  undoubtedly  prevailed, 
but  it  was  common  to  all  France.  There  was  a  great 
scarcity  of  cereals,  the  price  of  which  became  early 
in  1847  as  high  as  it  had  been  some  thirty  years 
previously,  when  two  successive  harvests  failed.  But 
this  state  of  affairs  was  not  peculiar  to  France.  We 
ourselves  had  our  "  Hungry  Forties  "  and  our  Corn 
Law  agitation.  As  for  Alsace,  the  municipalities  did 
their  utmost  to  provide  for  the  public  needs  by 
buying  grain  and  flour  wherever  possible,  and  fixing 
the  price  of  bread  at  such  a  figure  as  to  place  the 
staff  of  life  within  reach  even  of  poor  consumers.  The 
various  transactions  resulted  in  considerable  losses  to 
the  municipalities,  and  these  losses  had  to  be  met  by 
increased  taxation  on  the  wealthier  folk  of  the  com- 
munity. The  poorer  ones,  however,  were  at  least 
able  to  obtain  bread.  The  municipality  of  Strasburg 
also  started  relief  works — an  empirical  remedy,  no 
doubt,  but  one  which,  for  the  time  being,  certainly 
provided  a  considerable  number  of  people  with  the 
means  of  subsistence. 

The  cause  of  the  general  discontent  among  the 
masses,  and  also  in  part  of  the  distress  which  arose  in 
many  parts  of  France,  lay  in  the  political  system  of 
the  time.  There  was  an  extremely  restricted  fran- 
chise, in  such  wise  that  the  bulk  of  the  nation  had 
no  voice  in  its  government.  And  yet  less  than  half 
a  century  had  elapsed  since  the  dawn  of  the  French 
Revolution.  All  the  Liberal  elements  in  France 


128  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

embarked,  then,  on  a  great  campaign  for  Reform, 
and  Alsace  took  a  notable  part  in  it.  The  agitation 
increased  when  various  cases  of  corruption  and 
jobbery  in  high  places  were  brought  to  light.  Many 
more  were  suspected,  and  not  without  good  reason. 
/In  the  result,  on  February  24,  1848,  Louis  Philippe 
lost  his  throne,  and  the  Second  French  Republic  was 
proclaimed. 

Once  again  Alsace  became  all  enthusiasm.  That 
same  year  was  the  bicentenary  of  the  Treaty  of 
Westphalia,  which  had  acknowledged  Alsace  (Stras- 
burg  and  Mulhouse  excepted)  as  part  of  France. 
The  Alsatians  resolved  to  celebrate  this  memorable 
event  by  a  number  of  great  festivals.  Whatever  the 
historical  circumstances  might  be,  Strasburg  and 
Mulhouse  eagerly  participated  in  these  rejoicings. 
There  were  fetes  also  at  Colmar,  Minister,  Cernay, 
Thann,  Wesserling,  Schlestadt,  Saverne,  Barr,  and 
other  places.  In  a  word,  the  whole  province  gave 
itself  up  to  festivity.  Thousands  of  National  Guards 
assembled  at  Strasburg.  Deputations  poured  in  from 
Lorraine  and  other  adjacent  parts  of  France.  Flags 
waved,  music  sounded,  banquets  were  given,  speeches 
delivered,  and  houses  illuminated  in  the  evening,  when 
the  lads  and  the  girls,  and  older  folk  also,  footed  it 
merrily  in  the  squares  and  cross  ways.  Two  symbolic 
groups  figured  in  the  great  afternoon  procession — one 
showing  France  and  Alsace  embracing,  and  the  other 
Alsace,  as  warden  of  the  frontier,  proudly  defending 
France.  .  .  .  Alas  ! 

But  the  Second  Republic  reposed  on  no  bed  of 
roses.  It  was  face  to  face  with  a  most  difficult 
situation,  the  outcome  of  all  the  mismanagement 
of  Louis  Philippe's  time,  and  its  Government  un- 
doubtedly made  some  deplorable  mistakes.  When 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  129 

120,000  men  of  the  National  Workshops  in  Paris 
were  cast  adrift  without  means  of  subsistence,  a  fierce 
insurrection  burst  forth.*  For  four  days  the  city 
was  given  over  to  bloodshed.  General  Brea  and  his 
aide-de-camp  were  assassinated ;  Mgr.  Affre,  the 
Archbishop,  was  struck  down  on  a  barricade  whilst 
exhorting  the  combatants  to  cease  the  fratricidal 
struggle.  Cavaignac  at  last  put  down  the  rebellion, 
and  became  Chief  of  the  Executive,  with  virtually 
dictatorial  powers.  Nevertheless  there  was  ebullition 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  Alsace  included. 

When  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  came  forward  as  a 
candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  Republic  he 
found  numerous  Alsatian  supporters.  His  foolish 
enterprise  at  Strasburg  in  1836  and  his  equally 
foolish  descent  on  Boulogne  in  1840  were  overlooked, 
condoned.  At  this  time  only  forty-four  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  foundation  of  the  First  Empire, 
only  thirty-three  since  its  final  overthrow,  only 
twenty-seven  since  Napoleon's  death  at  St.  Helena, 
and  only  eight  since  his  remains  had  been  brought 
back  to  Paris,  and  deposited,  with  much  pomp  and 
ceremony,  under  the  dome  of  the  Invalides.  Thus 
the  Proud  Legend  was  still  a  living  one,  a  halo  still 
surrounded  the  Great  Captain's  name,  many  men 
whom  he  had  led  to  victory  were  still  living,  time  had 
only  suffused  his  deeds  and  theirs  with  a  glamour  of 
phenomenal  glory,  and  so  France,  in  part  carried 
away  by  the  memory  of  mighty  achievements,  and 
in  part  tired  of  the  sterile  strife  of  parties  and  appre- 
hensive of  the  wild  enterprises  of  extremists,  elected 
the  heir  of  the  Bonapartes  as  her  President  by 

*  Let  our  rulers  profit  by  the  lessons  of  history  and  be  careful  how,  when 
the  Great  War  ends,  they  treat  the  millions  of  workers  now  in  Government 
or  controlled  establishments. 


130  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

5,434,226  votes.  Few  of  those  voters  imagined  at 
the  time  that  they  were  not  giving  themselves  to 
another  Napoleon  the  Great,  but  to  a  Napoleon  the 
Little. 

When  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Constitution  was 
administered  to  the  new  Chief  of  the  State,  he 
answered,  "  I  swear  it."  "  I  ask  God  to  witness  the 
oath  which  has  just  been  taken,"  said  the  President 
of  the  Assembly.  Then  Louis  Napoleon  addressed 
the  deputies,  his  first  words  being  :  "I  should  regard 
as  enemies  of  the  country  all  those  who  by  illegal 
means  should  attempt  to  alter  the  form  of  Govern- 
ment which  you  have  established."  Yet  in  December 
1851  came  the  coup  d'etat,  and  in  December  the 
following  year  the  establishment  of  a  Second  Empire, 
which  collapsed  in  the  disaster  of  Sedan,  leaving 
France  to  fight  on  as  best  she  could  in  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  save  Alsace-Lorraine,  which  Bismarck 
bluntly  told  Jules  Favre  at  Ferrieres,  soon  after  the 
Empire's  fall,  would  be  part  of  the  price  that  must 
be  paid  for  peace. 

The  policy  pursued  during  Louis  Napoleon's  pre- 
sidency indisposed  many  Alsatian  Republicans,  who 
participated  in  various  little  plots.  From  time  to 
time  there  were  perquisitions,  arrests,  and  trials, 
which  last,  owing  to  the  Liberalism  of  Alsatian  judges 
and  juries,  generally  ended  in  acquittals.  In  the 
summer  of  1849  cholera  raged  in  Alsace,  where  it 
carried  off  20,000  people.  In  August  the  following 
year  Louis  Napoleon  visited  the  province.  He  had 
just  been  badly  received  in  Franche-Comte,  Besan£on 
positively  hooting  him.  The  Alsatians  were  more 
circumspect,  and  at  Mulhouse,  Colmar,  and  Strasburg 
contented  themselves  with  crying  "  Vive  la  Repub- 
lique  1 "  They  associated  the  Republican  regime 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  131 

with  peace,  and  feared  lest  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Empire  should  signify  war — the  consequences  of 
which  they,  inhabiting  a  frontier  province,  would  be 
the  first  to  feel.  It  stirred  the  imagination  to  talk  of 
the  glories  of  the  former  Napoleonic  period,  but 
practical  Alsatians,  who  remembered  days  of  invasion, 
desired  a  peaceful  regime.  That  view,  indeed,  was 
held  in  most  parts  of  France,  and  Louis  Napoleon 
knew  it,  and  for  that  very  reason  delivered  himself  at 
Bordeaux  of  the  famous  apophthegm  :  L*  Empire,  c'est 
la  paix  ("  The  Empire  will  mean  peace  "). 

Although  the  Prince-President  was  already  break- 
ing his  solemn  oath  to  the  Constitution,  millions  of 
people  believed  in  the  promise  of  Bordeaux.  It 
quieted  a  thousand  apprehensions  and  won  over  a 
mass  of  hesitating  opinion.  Moreover,  there  was  a 
most  reactionary  majority  in  the  National  Assembly, 
and  this  inclined  many  Liberal  people  to  support  the 
President  against  the  legislature.  After  the  coup 
d'etat,  however,  several  Republican  Alsatian  deputies, 
including  Kestner  of  Mulhouse  and  Edmond  Valentin, 
who  became  Prefect  of  Strasburg  during  the  memor- 
able siege  of  1870,  as  well  as  other  prominent  men, 
were  arrested  and  exiled  or  deported.  Other  Repub- 
licans were  able  to  escape  into  Swiss  territory. 
Strenuous  Government  pressure  was  then  exercised 
on  every  side.  All  kinds  of  promises,  all  kinds  of 
threats  were  employed,  in  such  wise  that  the  plebi- 
scitum  taken  to  ratify  the  coup  d'etat  resulted  in 
favour  of  Louis  Napoleon.  In  the  whole  province 
only  15,414  votes  were  officially  recorded  against 
him.  I  say  officially,  because  in  Alsace,  as  elsewhere, 
the  ballot-boxes  were  tampered  with  in  many  localities. 
During  the  ensuing  month  of  December  the  citadel  of 
Strasburg  thundered  forth  a  salute  of  101  guns  in 


132  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

honour  of  the  proclamation  of  an  Empire,  which  was 
to  bring  the  direst  misfortune  upon  all  Alsace. 

The  rule  of  Napoleon  III  was  never  really  popular 
in  the  Alsatian  towns,  but,  as  is  well  known,  the 
Emperor  laid  himself  out  in  all  sorts  of  ways  to 
please  the  peasantry  throughout  France,  and  in  this 
matter  he  succeeded,  in  Alsace  as  in  other  provinces. 
The  Strasburg  municipality  being,  however,  none  to 
his  liking,  he  arbitrarily  revoked  it  in  1854  and 
appointed  a  commission  to  control  the  affairs  of  the 
town.  Two  years  later  the  young  Archduke  Maxi- 
milian of  Austria  made  a  short  stay  in  the  Alsatian 
capital,  having  come  to  France  on  his  first  visit  to 
Napoleon.  The  intercourse  which  ensued  proved 
fatal  to  the  Austrian  prince,  who,  eight  years  later, 
was  persuaded  to  become  Emperor  of  Mexico,  and 
in  1867,  having  been  abandoned  by  his  patron,  was 
shot  at  Queretaro.  Scarcely  had  he  quitted  Alsace 
in  1856  wrhen  a  latent  agitation  became  acute  there. 
It  was  caused  by  a  conflict  which  had  arisen  between 
the  Swiss  Confederation  and  the  King  of  Prussia, 
then  Frederick  William  IV,  the  monarch  who  was 
addicted  to  Clicquot  champagne,  and  who,  losing 
control  of  the  little  brains  he  possessed — Virchow 
averred  that  he  had  none  at  all — contracted  the  nasty 
habit  of  washing  his  face  with  his  soup.* 

In  1856  this  monarch's  fixed  idea  was  to  exercise 
his  sovereign  rights  over  the  Swiss  canton  of  Neuf- 
chatel,  which  in  1815,  with  the  county  of  Valengin, 
had  been  assigned  as  a  principality  to  Frederick 
William  III.  However,  during  the  great  year  of 
revolutions  and  insurrections,  1848,  the  Switzers  of 

*  He  died  in  1861,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  younger  brother,  the 
future  Emperor  William  I  (grandfather  of  the  present  Kaiser),  who  since 
1857  had  acted  as  Regent  of  Prussia. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  133 

Neufchatel  rose  against  their  harsh  Prussian  masters, 
drove  them  out  of  the  canton,  and  joined  the  Con- 
federation. Frederick  William  IV  was  beset  by  so 
much  trouble  at  home  at  this  juncture  that  for  the 
time  he  had  to  resign  himself  to  the  loss  ;  but  in  1853, 
resolving  to  assert  himself,  he  once  more  seized  the 
town  with  the  help  of  sundry  partisans,  and  set  up 
the  Prussian  flag.  But  again  were  the  Prussians  and 
their  adherents  attacked  by  the  Swiss  of  the  rural 
districts,  and  whilst  fifteen  of  them  wrere  killed  and 
thirty  wounded,  three  hundred  were  taken  prisoners. 
Thereupon  Frederick  William  threatened  the  Federal 
authorities,  who  refused,  however,  to  recognize  his 
claims. 

The  dispute  became  more  and  more  embittered, 
and  at  last  the  infuriated  Prussian  king  requested 
Baden,  Bavaria,  and  Wiirttemberg  to  allow  him  to 
march  an  army  of  135,000  men  through  their  territory 
for  the  purpose  of  invading  Switzerland.  This  created 
great  agitation,  even  alarm,  in  Alsace,  for  it  was 
known  that  France  would  not  tolerate  such  an 
invasion.  Thus  war  with  Prussia  might  well  ensue. 
The  matter  attracted  some  attention  at  the  Peace 
Conference  in  Paris  at  the  close  of  the  Crimean  War. 
Meantime  the  Swiss  fortified  their  frontiers  and 
assembled  troops  under  the  orders  of  General  Dufour, 
the  only  general,  I  believe,  that  Switzerland  has  had 
in  modern  times — at  least  the  highest  rank  in  her 
army  nowadays  is  that  of  colonel.  The  assistance  of 
France  having  been  solicited  by  the  Swiss  authorities, 
the  Prussian  monarch  contented  himself  for  the  nonce 
with  demanding  the  release  of  the  prisoners  held  by 
the  people  of  Neufchatel.  The  latter  refused  the 
release  unless  Frederick  William  would  renounce  his 
pretensions.  By  French  advice,  however,  the  pri- 


134  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

soners  were  set  free  unconditionally,  and  a  conference 
of  the  Great  Powers  ensued  in  Paris  in  May  1857. 
Frederick  William  then  demanded  a  large  indemnity 
from  Switzerland  in  return  for  the  surrender  of  his 
rights.  But  Napoleon  III,  through  his  representative 
and  illegitimate  cousin,  Count  Walewski,  hinted  at  a 
declaration  of  war,  and  as  Prussia  was  not  then 
prepared  to  encounter  France  in  the  field,  the  King 
gave  way,  and  on  the  understanding  that  Switzerland 
should  pay  for  the  damage  done  to  Prussian  property 
during  the  insurrection,  renounced  his  sovereignty 
over  Neufchatel. 

A  glance  at  a  map  will  show  how  dangerous  it 
would  have  been  for  France  to  have  had  such  a 
Power  as  Prussia  *  installed  on  her  Jurassian  frontier, 
with  easy  access  to  Basle  and  Upper  Alsace.  It  was 
therefore  incumbent  on  her,  in  her  own  interest,  to 
support  the  people  of  Neufchatel  and  the  Swiss 
generally.  This  affair,  however,  was  one  of  the 
indirect  causes  of  the  war  of  1870.  As  Bismarck 
said  long  afterwards  :  "  Napoleon  III  would  not  let 
us  have  Neufchatel.  Well,  we  have  taken  Alsace, 
quid  pro  quo." 

However  sinister  may  have  been  the  beginning 
and  however  tragical  the  end  of  the  Second  Empire, 
the  intervening  period  was  certainly  one  of  steadily 

*  It  is  true  that  the  principality  of  Neufchatel  was  only  a  personal  appanage 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Prussian  State  ;  but  enough  has  been  said 
to  show  that  Frederick  William  was  prepared  to  employ  all  the  resources  of 
his  kingdom,  even  to  the  point  of  seizing  and  holding  this  strip  of  Switzerland 
by  force  of  arms.  Thus  the  Swiss,  even  those  of  Germanic  origin,  have  never 
had  any  liking  for  Prussia.  The  present  Kaiser  has  shown  himself  so  unscru- 
pulous that  should  the  Great  War  end  in  his  favour  (which  Heaven  forbid  !) 
he  would  be  quite  the  man  to  revive  a  claim  to  Neufchatel,  on  the  ground 
that  no  predecessor  of  his  had  a  right  to  alienate  a  part  of  his  inheritance. 
Louis  XIV's  "  War  of  Devolution  "  was  based  on  that  theory,  a  very  conve- 
nient one  for  those  who  regard  solemn  covenants  as  scraps  of  paper.  Great 
Britain  was  a  party  to  the  cession  of  Neufchatel  in  1857. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  135 

increasing  material  prosperity.  In  1852,  the  first 
year  after  the  coup  d'etat,  the  various  imports  into 
France  represented  a  value  of  £55,780,000.  In  1869, 
the  year  before  the  Franco-German  War,  their  value 
was  £160,000,000.  In  the  same  period  the  exports 
rose  from  £67,200,000  to  £159,760,000,  this  being  the 
third  year  that  their  value  was  slightly  inferior  to 
that  of  the  imports.  The  latter  were  only  exceeded 
again  in  1872,  after  the  Franco-German  War  and  the 
Commune,  and  the  denunciation  of  the  treaties  of 
commerce.  All  kinds  of  industries  and  branches  of 
commerce  made  great  progress  during  the  imperial 
period.  For  instance,  whereas  in  1852  the  French 
pits  only  produced  4,904,000  metric  tons  of  coal,  in 
1869  their  output,  in  response  to  the  ever-increasing 
demands  of  industry,  had  risen  to  13,464,000  metric 
tons.  The  iron  ore  which  was  raised  and  smelted 
doubled  in  quantity  between  the  years  I  have  men- 
tioned. In  1869  the  output  in  metallurgical  industry 
was  valued  at  nearly  nineteen  millions  sterling,  or 
about  £7,700,000  more  than  in  1852.  There  were 
great  increases  in  other  industries. 

I  find  also  that  wrhereas  in  1853  the  total  length 
of  the  French  railway  lines  was  but  2568  miles,  it 
had  become  10,750  miles  in  1869.  As  for  the  postal 
receipts,  a  good  test  of  a  nation's  commercial  activity, 
these  increased  from  £1,861,000  in  1852  to  more  than 
£3,785,000  in  1869.  Take  another  test:  French 
manufacturers  and  tradesfolk  pay  a  fixed  tax  called 
a  patente,  a  licence  as  it  were.  In  1852  this  tax 
produced  £1,485,000,  and  in  the  last  full  year  of  the 
Empire  £2,581,000.  Finally,  in  1869  the  nation  was 
able  to  pay  more  than  23  millions  sterling  in  direct 
State  taxation,  against  16|  millions  paid  at  the 
advent  of  the  Empire ;  and  the  total  receipts  of  the 


136  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

French  Treasury  exceeded  £78,472,000,  whereas  seven- 
teen years  previously  they  had  been  rather  less  than 
£59,494,000. 

The  foregoing  paragraph  may  appear  irrelevant 
to  my  subject.  But  I  would  point  out  that  Alsace 
participated  largely  in  France's  increased  prosperity. 
In  this  connexion  some  account  was  given  in  a  former 
chapter  of  the  development  of  trade  at  Mulhouse. 
Moreover,  I  have  quoted  the  foregoing  figures  because 
whilst  censuring  the  Second  French  Empire  from  the 
standpoint  of  political  morality,  it  is  only  fair  that  I 
should  make  some  mention  of  its  one  redeeming 
feature.  But  a  nation's  material  prosperity  is  not 
everything  in  its  life.  Great  was  our  prosperity 
before  the  present  war  began,  and  some  folk  wished 
us  to  rest  content  with  clinging  to  it  and  "  capturing 
German  trade,"  instead  of  joining  in  the  immortal 
fray  for  the  world's  freedom.  We  preferred,  however, 
to  cast  our  prosperity  and  our  resources,  as  well  as 
our  arms,  into  the  Scales  of  Justice,  and  in  doing  so 
we  took  the  only  course  befitting  men  of  honour. 

I  frankly  admit,  then,  the  great  material  prosperity 
of  France  under  her  Second  Empire.  The  figures  I 
have  given,  and  which  are  extracted  from  various 
issues  of  the  official  Annuaire  statistique  de  la  France, 
may  seem  small  at  the  present  day,  but  they  have  to 
be  considered  in  connexion  with  the  general  wealth 
and  requirements  of  the  period  to  which  they  apply. 
From  time  to  time  there  were,  naturally  enough, 
various  set-backs.  Financial  scandals  and  heavy 
failures  occurred,  and  in  1863  Alsace  suffered  from 
the  collapse  of  some  important  houses.  Three  years 
later  there  was  unrest,  anxiety,  even  alarm,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  war  between  Prussia  and  Austria, 
which,  although  a  brief  one — it  is  known  as  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  13? 

Seven  Weeks'  War — quite  transformed  the  condition 
of  affairs  in  Germany,  making  Prussia  its  predominant 
Power.  Napoleon  III  and  the  Empress  Eugenie  were 
to  have  visited  Strasburg  that  year,  but  the  threaten- 
ing situation  kept  them  in  Paris. 

Two  years  later  a  notable  personage,  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  the  Neufchatel  affair,  passed  away  at 
the  Hotel  de  la  Ville  de  Paris  in  the  Alsatian  capital. 
This  was  Count  Walewski,  who  had  succeeded  the 
Duke  de  Morny,  Napoleon  Ill's  illegitimate  half- 
brother,  as  President  of  the  Corps  Legislatif .  WalewTski 
himself  was  an  illegitimate  son  of  Napoleon  I,  and  if 
ever  the  modern  Conqueror  stamped  his  likeness  upon 
any  child  of  his,  he  did  so  in  Walewski's  case.  The 
resemblance  was  striking  both  in  face  and  in  figure. 
Had  it  been  possible  to  imagine  Napoleon  in  "  mufti," 
you  would  have  said  on  seeing  Walewski :  "  There  he 
is ! "  Prince  Napoleon  Jerome  certainly  had  the 
Napoleonic  face,  but  he  was  a  much  bigger  man  than 
the  Emperor.  At  the  same  time  Walewski  differed 
from  his  father  in  disposition  and  in  manners.  These 
he  derived  from  his  mother,  the  beautiful  Polish 
countess  who  was  one  of  the  few  women  that  really 
loved  Napoleon.  In  a  word,  the  son  was  urbane, 
soft-spoken,  a  perfect  gentleman  in  his  ways.  After 
serving  for  a  short  time  in  a  regiment  of  hussars  he 
had  entered  the  diplomatic  service  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe.  Had  he  lived  longer  he  might  pos- 
sibly have  arrested  the  Empire  on  the  downward 
course  which  it  took  after  his  death. 

From  1866  omvard  Alsace  ranged  itself  largely 
on  the  side  of  the  parliamentary  Opposition  to  the 
Empire.  In  a  comparatively  recent  book  of  mine, 
ic  In  Seven  Lands,"  *  I  mentioned  a  few  incidents  in 

*  Chatto  and  Windus,  1916. 


138  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  Alsatian  history  of  this  period,  and  it  may  be 
allowable  for  me  to  refer  to  them  again  here.  After 
the  Austro-Prussian  War  of  1866,  a  zealous  propa- 
ganda in  furtherance  of  German  claims  on  Alsace- 
Lorraine  was  carried  on  in  Germany  by  means  of 
geographies  and  histories,  which  designated  Alsace, 
particularly,  as  a  lost  land  which  it  was  the  duty  of 
every  patriotic  German  to  recover  and  redeem.  No 
regard  was  shown  for  real  history  or  for  former 
treaties,  covenants,  and  cessions.  The  circumstances 
under  which  Strasburg  became  French  territory  were 
absolutely  falsified,  whilst  those  attending  Mulhouse's 
union  with  France  were  conveniently  ignored.  The 
theory  started  in  the  forties,  that  the  Alsatians  were 
persecuted  by  the  French,  was  revived.  "  Yonder, 
near  the  Vosges,"  wrote  a  German  versifier,  "  a  lost 
treasure  lies.  There  must  German  blood  be  freed 
from  hellish  sway."  A  man  named  Richard  Boeck 
particularly  distinguished  himself  by  his  ardour  in 
claiming  Alsace  for  Germany.  In  the  province  itself, 
one  must  admit — it  would  be  absurd  to  shirk  facts — 
that  there  existed  a  small  party  of  clericals,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  who  without  daring  to  go  so 
far  as  to  advocate  annexation  to  Germany,  did  their 
utmost  to  resist  the  further  diffusion  of  the  French 
language.*  A  Strasburg  cure  named  Cazeaux  and  a 
pastor  called  Baum  based  their  objections  to  French 
on  religious  and  moral  grounds.  It  had  been,  said 
they,  the  language  of  the  infidel  Voltaire,  and  it  was 
that  of  the  Parisians,  who  were  steeped  in  vice  and 
corruption. 

The  French  capital  certainly  offered  numerous 
scenes  of  folly  and  depravity.  But  people  dwelling 
at  a  distance,  and  trippers  bent  on  having  a  "  good 

*  These  matters  are  dealt  with  more  fully  in  my  seventh  chapter. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  139 

time  "  in  the  midst  of  coarse  pleasures,  have  long 
misjudged  the  great  city.  To  them  Paris  has  meant 
the  Boulevards,  the  caboulots  of  Montmartre,  the 
brasseries  of  the  Quartier  Latin,  the  Moulin  Rouge, 
the  Chat  Noir,  the  Bal  Bullier,  and  so  on.  For  them, 
those  places  and  similar  ones,  and  the  phases  of  life 
to  be  observed  there,  have  signified  everything.  It 
is  as  though  London  were  judged  by  the  standard 
of  Piccadilly  and  Coventry  Street,  Giro's  and  other 
swagger  dens.  In  the  case  of  Paris,  those  who  in  a 
spirit  of  Puritanical  fanaticism  have  denounced  it  as 
the  modern  Babylon  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  it 
is  far  more  a  city  of  strenuous  work,  a  city  of  many 
manufactures,  of  learning,  art,  invention,  and  dis- 
covery, contributing  powerfully  to  the  advancement 
of  mankind.  The  sectarian  Alsatians  to  whom  I  have 
referred  made  a  similar  mistake.  In  their  denuncia- 
tions of  Paris,  whatever  solicitude  they  may  have 
affected  for  their  respective  flocks,  they  were  helping 
on  the  designs  of  Germany,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  they  were  incited  to  the  course  they  took  by 
German  gold.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
directly  Bismarck  had  settled  accounts  with  Austria 
he  prepared  for  a  war  with  France  for  the  express 
purpose  of  seizing  Alsace-Lorraine. 

Whilst  attempts  were  being  made  to  create  a 
current  of  pro-German  opinion  in  Alsace  two  famous 
authors  were  conjointly  producing  a  series  of  works 
which,  whilst  picturing  Alsatian  manners  and  customs 
in  former  times,  gave  vivid  glimpses  of  the  sufferings 
caused  by  warfare  even  when  it  was  waged  with 
success  as  well  as  when  it  became  invasion  on  the  part 
of  a  ruthless  enemy.  These  authors  were  Emile 
Erckmann,  a  native  of  Phalsbourg,  and  Alexandre 
Chatrian,  born  at  Soldatenthal,  localities  situated  on 


140  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  confines  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine.  The  works  of 
Erckmann-Chatrian,  notably  the  series  called  "  Les 
Romans  Nationaux,"  breathed  a  spirit  of  attachment 
to  France.  Written  in  French,  they  were  translated 
into  many  languages,  and  sold  widely  all  the  world 
over.  I  find  that  in  some  instances  editions  in 
German  were  prepared  expressly  for  circulation  in 
those  rural  districts  of  Alsace  where  the  knowledge  of 
French  was  more  or  less  restricted.  In  that  con- 
nexion it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1870  considerably 
more  than  a  third  of  the  population  of  Alsace  was  as 
conversant  with  French  as  writh  German,  reading  and 
writing  both  languages,  and  that  the  former  one  was 
making  more  and  more  headway  every  day  among 
the  younger  generations.  In  such  a  matter  the 
Imperial  Government  ought  to  have  let  well  alone ; 
but  at  one  period  it  made  the  mistake  of  trying  to 
force  French  upon  the  inhabitants  of  little  out-of-the- 
way  hamlets  to  the  absolute  exclusion  of  the  Germanic 
dialects  to  which  they  were  accustomed. 

At  last  came  the  war  of  1870.  In  another  chapter 
I  shall  say  something  respecting  the  engagements 
which  were  fought  and  the  sieges  which  occurred 
in  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  and  also  respecting  the 
conduct  of  the  German  commanders  and  soldiers 
there,  and  the  attitude  of  the  invaded  population. 
Here  I  will  only  add  a  few  remarks.  When  the 
question  of  declaring  war  arose  in  the  French  Corps 
Legislatif  all  the  Alsatian  deputies,  excepting  two, 
voted  for  it,  though  they  represented  various  shades 
of  political  opinion.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  owing  to 
the  machinations  of  Bismarck,  war  could  not,  at  that 
moment,  have  been  averted,  unless,  indeed,  France 
had  been  prepared  to  grovel  in  the  very  dust  at  the 
feet  of  Prussia.  That  she  could  not,  would  not,  do. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  141 

The  small  minority  which  voted  against  the  war  did 
so  mainly  to  mark  their  opposition  to  the  Empire, 
their  distrust  of  its  policy,  at  the  same  time  well 
knowing  that  their  votes  could  not  even  delay  hos- 
tilities for  a  moment.  The  Alsatian  deputies,  by 
ranging  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  majority,  at 
least  proclaimed  their  solidarity  with  the  bulk  of  the 
legislature  and  the  antipathy  with  which  they  regarded 
Prussia.  Very  few  and  far  between,  moreover,  were 
those  Frenchmen  who  then  feared  that  their  armies 
might  incur  reverses.  Not  one  in  ten  thousand 
imagined  that  there  was  anything  seriously  amiss 
with  the  Empire's  military  organization.  Thiers  had 
some  misgivings,  but  Gambetta — declared  adversary 
of  the  Empire  though  he  was — confidently  anticipated 
victories,  which,  welcome  as  they  would  prove  to 
French  patriotism,  would  at  the  same  time  unfortu- 
nately consolidate  the  regime  born  of  the  coup  d'etat. 
As  we  all  know,  the  sequel  was  very  different. 


THE  STORY  OF  LORRAINE 

(FROM  EARLY  TIMES  TO  THE  LAST  NATIVE  DUKES) 

Early  period  :  Extent  of  the  Kingdom  of  Lotharingia  :  Beneficiary 
and  Hereditary  Dukes  :  Disruption  of  the  Kingdom  :  Suzerainty  of 
the  Emperors  :  Union  of  Bar  and  Lorraine  :  The  House  of  Anjou  : 
Evolution  towards  France  :  The  Three  Bishoprics — Metz,  Verdun, 
and  Toul  :  French  Occupation  of  Lorraine  :  Vicissitudes  of 
Charles  IV  :  The  Last  Dukes  :  The  Metz  Jews  :  Offences  and 
Penalties  :  Taxation  and  Industry  :  Duke  Leopold's  Rule  : 
Francis  HI  exchanges  Lorraine  for  Tuscany. 

IT  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  sketch  the  history  of 
Lorraine  as  fully  as  I  have  sketched  that  of  Alsace,  for 
whereas  the  Germans  annexed  the  whole  of  the  latter 
province  in  1871,  they  took  only  a  portion  of  Lorraine, 
such  as  it  had  become  in  modern  times,  and  their 
motives  for  this  appropriation  were  not  the  same  as 
those  which  they  alleged  in  the  case  of  Alsace.  In 
regard  to  Lorraine,  indeed,  they  were  more  mindful 
of  strategical  and  industrial  considerations  than  of 
the  various  ethnographical  grounds  set  forth  as 
reasons  for  annexation  by  the  pedantic  professors  of 
their  universities.  According  to  the  Pan-Germanists 
there  is  hardly  a  country  in  the  world  to  which  their 
nation  cannot  assert  some  kind  of  claim.  As  certain 
Saxons  settled  in  our  country  long  ago,  England 
ought  to  be  an  appanage  of  Germany.  As  a  Germanic 
race  called  the  Franks  overran  Gaul,  modern  France 
ought  also  to  be  a  German  dependency.  Hitherto, 
however,  instead  of  claiming  the  country  in  its  en- 
tirety the  Germans  have  been  considerate  enough  to 

142 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  143 

nibble  at  it,  just  appropriating  frontier  parts  at  con- 
venient opportunities.  The  Pan-Germanic  claims  in 
regard  to  Lorraine,  or  rather  the  old  kingdom  of 
Lotharingia,  would  provide  a  pretext  for  seizing  a 
great  deal  of  territory  forming  not  only  part  of  France 
but  of  other  countries  also.  When  in  855,  six  days 
before  his  father's  death,  Lothair  II  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  Lotharingian  kingdom  which  had  been 
carved  out  of  parts  of  Charlemagne's  Empire,  he 
found  himself  in  the  possession  of  the  following  lands, 
of  which,  in  order  to  facilitate  identification,  I  give 
the  modern  names  :  In  Switzerland,  the  Valais  and 
the  Genevois,  the  cantons  of  Freiburg,  Soleure,  and 
Berne,  and  the  diocese  of  Basle.  In  the  Netherlands, 
Liege,  Limburg,  Brabant,  Guelders,  Namur,  Hainault, 
Utrecht,  and  Zeeland.  In  Germany  itself,  the  Pala- 
tinate west  of  the  Rhine,  with  Treves  and  Cologne. 
Next  Luxemburg  and  Alsace ;  and  in  modern  France, 
Bar,  Lorraine,  and  Franche-Comte.  Moreover,  in  the 
year  863,  on  the  death  of  his  younger  brother  Charles, 
Lothair  inherited  Provence,  the  Lyonnais,  the  Vien- 
nois,  the  Vivarais  and  the  Pays  d'Uzes.  In  later 
times  one  finds  some  of  the  Germanic  Emperors 
styling  themselves  Kings  of  Provence  and  Kings  of 
Aries,  and  some  of  the  original  Dauphins  acknow- 
ledged the  Imperial  suzerainty.  Thus  the  zealous 
Pan-German,  bravely  defying  ridicule,  asserts  :  "  This, 
that,  and  the  other  ought  to  be  ours.  They  belonged 
to  us  not  long  after  the  Year  One ;  I  can  prove  it  by 
ancient  Chronicles ! " 

When  Lothair  II — a  somewhat  disreputable  prince 
who  put  away  his  wife  in  order  to  live  in  dalliance 
with  a  mistress,  on  which  account  he  was  excommuni- 
cated by  one  of  the  Popes — died  in  869,  his  dominions 
were  appropriated  by  his  uncle  Charles  the  Bald. 


144  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

Charles's  brother,  Louis  the  Germanic,  compelled 
him,  however,  to  divide  the  territory.  Afterwards, 
Louis  dying,  Charles  seized  all  his  States,  but  had  to 
share  them  with  Louis'  son  called  "the  Saxon." 
Later,  a  certain  Hugh,  Duke  of  Alsace,*  and  the 
illegitimate  offspring  of  Lothair  II  by  his  mistress 
Waldreda,  claimed  the  Lotharingian  kingdom,  but 
was  defeated  and  had  his  eyes  put  out.  Henry  of 
Franconia  had  then  become  by  imperial  appointment 
Duke  of  Lorraine.  After  Charles  the  Fat  had  been 
deposed  in  887  this  State,  like  Alsace  and  Germany, 
passed  to  his  nephew  Arnoul  or  Arnulf,  and  then  to  the 
latter' s  natural  son  Swentibold,  of  whom  I  previously 
gave  some  account. *j*  On  Swentibold 's  downfall  the 
Lorrainers  virtually  handed  themselves  over  to  Charles 
the  Simple,  King  of  France.  Thus  there  were  many 
fluctuations.  Loth  air's  former  kingdom  had  few 
natural  frontiers  and  no  ethnical  basis,  peopled  as 
it  was  by  a  variety  of  races.  In  the  lands,  however, 
to  which  the  name  of  Lorraine  became  applied  in 
more  modern  times  it  may  be  taken  that  the  Celto- 
Gallic  element  prevailed  over  that  of  the  Germanic 
intruders.  Scientists  .claim  that  a  brachycephalic 
type  of  skull,  which  was  that  of  the  ancient  Gauls, 
has  always  predominated  among  the  Lorrainers.  J 
On  the  other  hand,  the  country  became  at  an 
early  date  a  source  of  much  contention  and  strife 
between  France  and  Germany.  Both  claimed  control 
over  it,  but  undoubtedly  the  first  sovereigns  of 
the  so-called  Holy  Roman  Empire  appointed  the 
Dukes  by  whom  the  territory  was  governed,  and 
these  Dukes  became  the  only  effective  rulers. 

In  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  however,  there 

*  See  p.  67,  ante.  f  See  p.  67,  ante. 

|  This  matter  is  dealt  with  more  fully  in  chapter  viL 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  145 

were  several  invasions.  Attila's  hordes  had  overrun 
the  country  at  the  close  of  the  Gallo-Roman  period, 
and  on  seizing  Metz  had  destroyed  nearly  all  its 
Roman  edifices  of  any  note.  The  years  910,  917, 
926,  and  927  witnessed  the  irruption  of  other  bar- 
barians, who  are  also  called  Huns  by  some  of  the  old 
chroniclers.  Thus  the  nobles  who  attempted  to  rule 
Lorraine  enjoyed  no  easy  times.  At  last  the  Em- 
peror Otho  the  Great,  after  appointing,  first,  Henry 
Duke  of  Saxony,  and,  secondly,  Conrad  the  Red,  Duke 
of  Rhenish  France,  to  govern  the  territory,  removed 
the  latter  and  bestowed  the  dignity  on  his  own  brother 
Bruno,  who  was  then  Archbishop  of  Cologne.  Bruno 
divided  the  different  regions  into  Upper  and  Lower 
Lorraine,  and  ranking  as  a  kind  of  Archduke,  ap- 
pointed various  subordinate  dukes  to  administer 
different  parts.  He  created,  for  instance,  a  Duke  of 
Brabant  and  a  Duke  of  Liege,  and  placed  Frederic 
or  Ferry  I,  Count  of  Bar,  son  of  a  count  or  mayor  of 
the  palace  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  Simple,  at  the 
head  of  Upper,  otherwise  French,  Lorraine.  Bar,  be 
it  said,  comprised  most  of  the  Meuse  country  between 
French  Lorraine  and  Champagne,  and  Ferry  had 
married  Beatrix,  sister  of  Hugh  Capet,  the  founder  of 
the  French  Capetian  dynasty. 

The  dukedoms  which  I  have  mentioned  were  simply 
benefices  held  only  for  life  or  during  good  behaviour ; 
but  in  later  times  the  fact  that  a  member  of  one  or 
another  house  had  been  placed  at  some  period  or 
other  at  the  head  of  some  particular  duchy  gave  rise 
to  all  sorts  of  claims,  which  not  unfrequently  were 
fought  out  on  the  battlefield.  Moreover,  according  to 
the  relative  power  of  the  French  or  the  German  rulers 
one  or  the  other  exercised  the  right  of  appointment 
to  these  dukedoms,  and  at  some  moments  great  con- 


146  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

fusion  prevailed  as  to  who  might  really  be  the  rightful 
duke. 

When  Bruno  divided  Upper  from  Lower  Lorraine 
the  former  included  all  French  Lorraine  and  some 
additional  territory.  The  second  comprised  most,  if 
not  all,  of  modern  Belgium,  together  with  the  Moselle 
and  part  of  the  Rhenish  country.  Most  of  Lower 
Lorraine  became  known  later  as  the  Duchy  of  Brabant, 
which  in  1089  the  Emperor  Henry  IV  bestowed  on  the 
famous  Godefroy  de  Bouillon,  of  the  First  Crusade. 
Brabant  afterwards  became  a  hereditary  duchy,  and 
ultimately  passed  to  the  Burgundian  house.  The 
position  was  complicated,  however,  by  the  fact  that 
the  chief  bishops  of  Lower  Lorraine — those  of  Utrecht, 
Treves,  Cologne,  Metz,  Liege,  Verdun,  etc. — gradually 
became  more  and  more  independent  and  increased  the 
territorial  possessions  of  their  sees.  Like  the  Dukes 
themselves  they  were  immediate  feudatories  of  the 
Empire,  though  the  Archbishops  of  Treves  endea- 
voured to  exercise  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual 
jurisdiction  over  other  prelates. 

Hugh  Capet,  on  coming  to  the  front  in  France, 
had  considerable  trouble  in  asserting  his  supremacy 
there,  and  therefore  gave  little  attention  to  the  fate 
of  either  Upper  or  Lower  Lorraine.  It  would  seem, 
however,  that  a  grand-nephew  of  his,  called  Albert  of 
Alsace,  was  appointed  Duke  of  Upper  Lorraine  by  the 
Emperor  Henry  III  in  1046.  From  Albert's  time,  or 
rather  that  of  his  son  Gerard,  styled  Count  in,  not  of, 
Alsace,  the  duchy  became  hereditary.  Gerard  appears 
to  have  owned  several  lordships  in  Upper  Lorraine  and 
these  gave  him  some  sort  of  claim  to  succeed  his 
father  in  the  ducal  dignity,  but  according  to  one  ac- 
count he  did  not  do  so  by  right  of  birth,  but  assembled 
the  Lorraine  nobles  to  confirm  him  in  the  position. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  147 

Gerard  died  in  1070,  and  from  that  time  until  the 
earlier  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  his  heirs  in  tail 
male  continued  to  rule  Upper  Lorraine.  Charles,  called 
the  Bold,  who  succeeded  in  1391,  lost  both  his  sons 
while  they  were  still  young.  He  had,  however,  two 
daughters,  named  respectively  Isabella  and  Catherine. 
The  latter  married  a  Margrave  of  Baden,  and  Charles 
selected  Isabella  as  heiress  of  Lorraine.  To  carry  this 
plan  into  effect  he  convoked  the  chivalry  of  the 
duchy,  and  on  December  13,  1425,  the  eighty-four 
nobles  who  attended  the  gathering  signed  a  covenant 
declaring  that  in  default  of  direct  heirs  male  the 
duchy  should  pass  to  the  nearest  female  member  of  the 
reigning  house.  Isabella  took  as  her  husband  Rene 
of  Anjou,  who  at  this  time  held  the  adjacent  duchy  of 
Bar. 

Bar  also  was  a  State  in  which  female  succession 
was  acknowledged.  This  had  occurred  as  far  back 
as  1027  when  a  Duchess  Sophia  exercised  governing 
rights  there  under  French  suzerainty.  She  married  a 
Count  of  Mousson  and  Montbeliard  of  the  same  stock 
as  the  early  Counts  of  Ferrette,  who  were  mentioned 
in  my  sketch  of  Alsatian  history.*  Sophia's  line 
lasted  until  the  early  years  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
when  Bar  (raised  from  the  rank  of  a  county  to  that 
of  a  duchy  by  John  of  France  in  1355)  was  held 
by  a  certain  Duke  Robert.  He  was  followed  by  his 
brother  Louis,  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Chalons-sur-Marne, 
who  surrendered  the  duchy  to  his  grand-nephew 
Rene  of  Anjou,  husband  of  Isabella  of  Lorraine. 
Anjou  had  undergone  many  vicissitudes  since  the  days 
when  John  Lackland  lost  it.  From  the  French 
crown  it  had  passed,  with  Maine,  to  Charles,  the 
younger  brother  of  Saint  Louis.  Later,  a  son  of 

*  See  pp.  77,  78,  ante. 


148  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

Philip  the  Hardy  of  France  had  married  the  heiress. 
Afterwards  had  come  a  son  of  John  of  France, 
named  Louis,  whose  eldest  grandson,  Louis  III,  died 
without  posterity,  whereupon  his  younger  brother 
Rene  succeeded  both  to  Anjou  and  to  Maine,  as 
well  as  to  the  county  of  Provence  and  the 
claims  of  the  Angevin  line  to  the  kingdom  of 
Naples.  The  last  named  he  never  secured,  never- 
theless he  lives  in  historical  romance  as  the  good 
King  Rene. 

As  I  have  shown,  he  was  by  descent  a  prince  of  the 
House  of  France,  and  indeed  from  the  time  of  Albert 
and  Gerard  of  Alsace,  who  were  Capetians,  down  to  the 
reign  of  King  Stanislas  the  territory  now  known  as 
Lorraine  was  always  ruled  by  French  Princes.  Before 
Rene's  time,  in  fact  as  far  back  as  the  eleventh  century, 
Bar  and  Lorraine  had  often  been  at  variance,  the 
rulers  of  these  duchies  generally  being  quarrelsome, 
pugnacious  men.  The  union  of  the  two  little  States 
seemed  to  offer  promise  of  a  better  future.  Isabella 
and  Rene  had  to  contend,  however,  in  regard  to 
Lorraine,  against  a  junior  branch  of  that  duchy's 
house,  represented  by  the  Count  of  Vaudemont,  who 
attempted  to  assert  his  claims  by  force  of  arms,  but 
failed  in  his  endeavour.  The  Angevin  dynasty  resided 
little  in  Lorraine.  It  took  less  interest  in  this  tangible 
possession  than  in  its  claims  on  Naples  and  Sicily. 
Whilst,  however,  its  members  were  fighting  abroad 
they  confided  the  authority  in  Lorraine  to  various 
regents,  whose  administration  was  generally  meri- 
torious. There  had  previously  been  a  period  when 
the  Lorraine  communes  had  asserted  themselves  and 
ended  by  securing  a  considerable  degree  of  autonomy. 
Powerful  corporations  had  also  sprung  up,  to  the 
great  advantage  of  the  Third  Estate.  By  a  charter 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  149 

which  Rene"  granted  in  1448,  the  glass- workers  of 
Lorraine  were  assimilated  to  the  nobility. 

In  1453  Rene  surrendered  Lorraine  and  Bar  to  his 
eldest  son  John,  who  married  Marie  de  Bourbon,  and 
left  the  duchies  to  their  son  Nicholas.  A  junior 
branch  afterwards  succeeded,  its  first  Duke,  Rene  II, 
becoming  historically  famous  as  the  adversary  of 
Charles  the  Rash  of  Burgundy,  who  made  a  wild 
attempt  to  reconstitute  some  such  kingdom  of  Lothar- 
ingia  as  that  which  had  been  formed  at  the  dismem- 
berment of  Charlemagne's  empire.  Charles  at  first 
overran  the  greater  part  of  Lorraine  and  even  seized 
the  town  of  Nancy,  but  in  February  1477  he  was 
slain  in  a  memorable  battle  fought  outside  the  town 
walls.  Rene  II  afterwards  endeavoured  to  assert  the 
Italian  claims  of  his  house,  but  failing  in  that  enter- 
prise he  virtually  renounced  warfare  and  set  himself 
to  consolidate  the  States  he  had  inherited. 

I  mentioned  previously  that  at  quite  an  early 
date  many  bishoprics  of  the  original  Lorraine  had 
made  themselves  virtually  independent.  Two  of 
these  sees,  Metz  and  Toul,  were  enclaves  in  Rene's 
territory.  A  third,  Verdun,  was  on  its  confines.  The 
Duke  contrived  to  get  control  of  these  dioceses  by 
securing  that  of  Toul  for  one  of  his  uncles,  and  those 
of  Metz  and  Verdun  for  his  third  and  fourth  sons.  In 
one  way  and  another  he  extended  his  sway  consider- 
ably, and  to  increase  the  influence  of  his  house  abroad 
he  ordered  that  all  younger  sons  should  only 
inherit  or  acquire  fiefs  outside  the  duchies.  He 
also  showed  great  prudence  in  his  relations  with 
France  and  Germany  ;  and  at  last  in  1542  a  conven- 
tion was  signed  at  Nuremberg  between  his  son  and 
successor,  Anthony,  and  the  Emperor  Charles  V,  by 
which  the  latter  acknowledged  the  independence 


150  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

of  the  duchy  of  Lorraine,  the  imperial  suzerainty 
being  limited  to  the  marquisates  of  Pont-a-Mousson 
and  Hattonchatel,  the  counties  of  Blamont  and 
Nomeny,  and  the  so-called  garde  of  Toul  and  avouerie 
of  Remiremont. 

At  this  period  the  whole  tendency  of  Lorraine 
policy  was  to  shake  off  as  far  as  possible  all  connexion 
with  Germany.     After  Duke  Anthony's  son  Francis, 
who  reigned  only  a  year,  came  in  1545  his  grandson 
Charles  III,  known  to  Lorrainers  as  the  Great.    As  a 
child  he  was  taken  to  France,  where  Henri  II  married 
him   to   his   daughter   Claude.     Charles   had   several 
relatives  in  France.     His  predecessor,  Rene  II,  had 
held  numerous  lordships  there,  and  in  pursuance  of 
his  policy  to  have  his  younger  sons  provided  for  outside 
Lorraine   and   Bar,   he   left  the   counties   of  Guise, 
Aumale,  Joinville,  Mayenne,  and  Elbceuf  to  his  fifth 
son  Claude  of  Lorraine,  who  was  afterwards  raised  to 
the  rank  of  Duke  of  Guise,  and  became  the  progenitor  of 
that  famous  house.    In  1552,  at  the  time  of  Charles  III 
of  Lorraine,  Henri  II  of  France  contrived  to  secure 
possession  of  the  Three  Bishoprics — Metz,  Toul,  and 
Verdun — as  I  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chapter.*     It 
was  the  famous  Marshal  Anne  de  Montmorency  who 
obtained  possession  of  the  city  of  Metz,  the  Catholic 
elements   of   its  population,   headed  by  the  Bishop 
himself,  Mgr.  de  Lenoncourt,  assisting  in  the  enter- 
prise.     It  may  be  added   that   Henri   II  had  pre- 
viously  signed    a    treaty    with    Maurice    of   Saxony 
authorizing  him  to   establish   himself  in  the  towns 
which  "  anciently  belonged  to  the  Empire,  but  which 
were  not  of  Germanic  speech."     Henri  II  made  a 
solemn  entry  into  Metz  in  April  1552  ;    but  the  Em- 
peror Charles  V  was  not  unnaturally  furious,  and  in 

*  See  p.  47,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  151 

the  following  month  of  October  he  besieged  the  city 
with  a  great  army.  As  I  related  in  my  account 
of  Metz*  he  had  to  withdraw,  after  suffering  great 
losses,  on  the  ensuing  first  of  January.  Henri  II 
contented  himself  with  assuming  the  title  of  Protector- 
at  Metz,  Verdun,  and  Toul,  but  his  third  son  and 
successor,  Henri  III,  entitled  himself  Sovereign  Lord 
of  those  towns.  It  must  be  admitted  that  whilst 
France  continued  to  exercise  effective  sway  in  the 
Bishoprics  her  right  to  do  so  was  not  formally  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Germanic  Empire  until  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia  in  1648,  when  it  was  agreed  that  Metz, 
Toul,  and  Verdun  should  remain  possessions  of  the 
French  Crown.  The  Duchy  of  Lorraine  not  having 
then  been  united  to  France,  the  Bishoprics,  although 
separated  from  one  another  by  intervening  strips  of 
territory,  were  incorporated  as  a  French  province, 
that  of  "  Les  Trois-Eveches." 

In  all  probability  if  the  Guises  had  not  been  so 
powerful,  and  Henri  III  of  France  so  extremely  weak, 
all  Lorraine  would  have  been  joined  to  France  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  Duke  Charles  sided  with  his 
relatives  the  Guises  and  the  famous  Catholic  League 
against  the  effete  Henri  III.  Adherents  of  the  League 
garrisoned  Metz,  Verdun,  Mezieres,  Toul,  and  other 
towns.  There  was  no  war  declared  with  the  Em- 
pire, but  German  Protestants  allied  themselves  with 
some  of  the  Protestants  of  Lorraine,  and  the  duchy 
became  the  scene  of  hostilities.  The  great  struggle  of 
that  period  was  semi-religious  and  semi-political.  On 
the  one  hand  the  Leaguers  wished  to  stamp  out 
the  Protestant  religion,  on  the  other  there  was  con- 
tention for  the  crown  of  France.  Duke  Charles  of 
Lorraine  wished  to  obtain  that  crown  for  his  son 

*  See  p.  48,  ante. 


152  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Henri,  and  if  by  virtue  of  descent  the  claims  of  the 
House  of  Lorraine  could  be  regarded  as  superior  to 
those  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  (represented  by  Henry 
of  Navarre),  the  senior  representative  of  Lorraine  was 
assuredly  more  entitled  to  the  reversion  of  Henri  Ill's 
crown  than  any  junior  representative,  such  as  Henri 
Duke  de  Guise.  The  latter,  however,  aspired  to 
become  King  of  France,  and  in  conjunction  with  his 
immediate  kinsmen  he  opposed  Charles's  pretensions. 
Guise  was  assassinated  at  Blois  in  1588  and  Henri  III 
at  Saint-Cloud  in  the  following  year.  War  still 
continued,  however,  between  France  and  Lorraine 
until  in  1595  Duke  Charles  signed  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  Navarrese  Henri  IV  at  Folembray. 
During  the  hostilities  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  had 
taken  the  towns  of  Stenay  and  Dun-sur-Meuse, 
and  their  possession  was  confirmed  to  him  at  the 
peace. 

Charles's  son,  Henri  II  of  Lorraine,  at  one  time 
the  parental  candidate  for  the  throne  of  France,  had 
to  content  himself  with  marrying  the  new  King  of 
France's  sister,  Catherine  of  Bourbon,  with  whom  he 
did  not  live  on  particularly  good  terms,  for  he  was  a 
Catholic  and  she  a  very  zealous  Huguenot — one  who 
boldly  told  her  brother  that  she  w^ould  not  abjure  her 
faith  for  any  kingdom  in  the  world.  In  spite,  how- 
ever, of  matrimonial  bickerings,  she  bore  her  husband 
two  daughters,  one  of  whom,  named  Nicole,  was 
married  to  a  nephew  of  her  husband  named  Charles. 
By  his  will  Henri  II  of  Lorraine  specified  that  Nicole 
and  her  husband  should  reign  over  the  duchy  con- 
jointly— this  arrangement  being  similar  to  that  arrived 
at  in  Great  Britain,  at  a  later  period,  in  the  case  of 
our  William  and  Mary,  the  last  named  being  Queen 
Regnant  and  not  merely  Queen  Consort.  In  the  case 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  153 

of  Lorraine,  however,  a  kind  of  comedy  was  acted  in 
order  to  upset  the  will  of  Henri  II.  His  nephew 
Charles  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  own  father,  Francis 
of  Lorraine,  who  thereupon  took  possession  of  the 
ducal  throne.  Francis  occupied  himself  in  paying  off 
some  huge  debts  left  by  his  predecessors,  notably  his 
father  Charles  the  Great,  and  then  in  his  turn  abdicated 
in  favour  of  his  son.  In  this  way  Nicole  was  frus- 
trated of  her  sovereign  rights. 

Trouble  ensued  with  France  over  this  matter, 
particularly  as  Charles  repudiated  Nicole,  and  more- 
over he  aided  and  abetted  the  rebellion  of  Gaston  of 
Orleans  against  Louis  XIII.  He  not  only  supplied 
Gaston  with  an  asylum,  but  gave  him  his  sister  Mar- 
guerite in  marriage.  Later  he  openly  allied  himself 
with  the  German  and  Spanish  enemies  of  France.  War 
ensued,  and  Louis  XIII  besieged  and  took  Nancy, 
which  offered  very  little  resistance  to  his  forces. 
Louis,  however,  regarded  his  exploit  as  a  glorious  one, 
and  requested  Jacques  Callot,  the  famous  artist,  to 
depict  the  surrender  in  an  engraving.  But  Callot, 
who  was  a  native  of  Nancy,  boldly  replied  :  '"  I  would 
rather  cut  off  my  thumb  than  do  so."  In  1632  Duke 
Charles  was  at  last  constrained  to  sign  a  peace  with 
France,  by  which  he  covenanted  to  allow  French 
forces  free  passage  across  the  duchy,  and  to  renounce 
all  alliance  with  her  enemies..  But  he  did  not  keep  his 
word,  and  before  long  fresh  trouble  arose  in  such  wise 
that  in  1634  he  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  brother, 
Cardinal  Nicholas  Francis  of  Lorraine,  whom  France, 
however,  declined  to  recognize.  As  Nicholas,  though  a 
Cardinal,  was  not  a  priest,  he  married  Claude,  the  sister 
of  the  discarded  Nicole,  in  the  hope  of  thereby  forti- 
fying his  authority.  But  Richelieu  instructed  the 
Duke  de  La  Force,  who  commanded  in  Lorraine  for 


154  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

France,  to  arrest  the  newly  married  pair,  and  they 
were  shut  up  in  the  ducal  palace  at  Nancy,  whence, 
however,  they  managed  to  escape  under  dramatic  and 
picturesque  circumstances. 

They  joined  Duke  Charles,  who  had  fled  to  Ger- 
many, and  Richelieu  was  left  master  of  Lorraine.  He 
appointed  French  governors  in  the  place  of  the  officials 
of  Duke  Charles,  garrisoned  the  towns  with  French 
soldiery,  and  instituted  at  Nancy  a  Sovereign  Court  of 
Lorraine,  which  many  of  the  native  nobility  willingly 
entered,  as  Charles  by  his  foreign  alliances  had  made 
himself  extremely  unpopular  among  them.  His  wife 
Nicole,  whom  he  had  repudiated  in  1637,  sought  a 
refuge  in  Paris.  He  himself  experienced  many  further 
vicissitudes.  Until  1642  he  continued  waging  war  as 
best  he  could.  In  that  year,  however,  he  signed  a 
treaty  acknowledging  as  Due-client  the  patronage  of 
France.  Afterwards  he  disputed  this  arrangement 
and  again  quitted  Lorraine,  whereupon  France, 
showing  less  reserve  than  previously,  appointed  an 
intendant  to  administer  the  duchy.  The  capture  of 
the  fortresses  of  La  Mothe  and  Longwy  finally  made 
the  French  supreme  masters  there.  Charles,  who 
fell  out  with  his  allies  the  Spaniards,  was  arrested  by 
them  and  detained  for  five  years  at  Antwerp.  He  was 
not  included  in  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  but  by  that 
of  the  Pyrenees  he  was  restored  to  a  part  of  his  States. 
France  retained  the  Clermontois  in  the  Argonne, 
Stenay,  Dun,  and  Jametz,  and  also  for  a  time  the 
Duchy  of  Bar,  which  was  ultimately  returned  to 
Charles  by  a  convention  signed  at  Vincennes.  In 
1663,  however,  Charles  had  to  hand  Marsal  over  to 
Louis  XIV.  Moreover,  when  the  latter  declared  war 
on  Holland,  being  by  no  means  sure  of  the  neutrality 
of  Lorraine,  he  again  occupied  the  duchy,  and  his 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  155 

distrust  was  justified  by  the  immediate  departure  of 
Charles  to  join  the  enemies  of  France. 

I  have  mentioned  that  this  Duke  of  Lorraine  had 
repudiated  his  wife  Nicole.  He  did  so  in  order  to 
marry  a  beautiful  young  woman  named  Beatrix  de 
Cusance,  widow  of  the  Prince  de  Cantecroix,  and  he 
took  this  course  with  the  approval  of  a  Jesuit  Father 
named  Cheminot,  who  held  that  his  marriage  with 
Nicole  was  null  and  void  as  he  had  been  "  constrained 
to  it  "  by  the  will  of  his  uncle,  the  bride's  father.  But 
in  1639  Pope  Urban  VIII  annulled  Charles's  marriage 
with  the  Princess  de  Cantecroix,  and  declared  their 
children — a  son  and  a  daughter — to  be  illegitimate. 
Nevertheless,  Beatrix  clung  to  Charles,  and  shared  his 
adventurous  life,  invariably  accompanying  him  to  the 
wars,  and  thereby  becoming  known  as  his  femme  de 
campagne.  Later,  the  Duke  (Nicole  having  died) 
married  Beatrix  by  deputy,  as  she  lay  on  her  death- 
bed. But  he  was  already  carrying  on  an  intrigue 
with  the  young  Countess  de  Ludres,  a  canoness  of  the 
Abbey  of  Poussay,  who  subsequently  became,  for  a 
short  time,  one  of  the  mistresses  of  Louis  XIV. 
Charles  promised  to  marry  the  Countess,  but  never 
did  so.  Constrained  in  later  years  to  live  in  Paris, 
he  there  became  infatuated  with  a  certain  Marianne 
Pajot,  an  apothecary's  daughter,  and  with  this  girl  he 
actually  went  through  a  form  of  marriage.  But  the 
union  was  dissolved  by  the  Parliament  of  Paris  in 
consequence  of  the  united  protests  of  the  Houses  of 
Bourbon  and  Lorraine.  Ultimately,  a  mere  child, 
Louise  Marguerite,  daughter  of  the  Count  d'Apre- 
mont-Nanteuil,  was  thrown  in  the  amorous  old  Duke's 
way,  and  in  July  1665  (he  then  being  sixty-two  years 
of  age)  he  ,was  married  to  this  girl  who  was  just 
entering  her  teens.  No  children  were  born  of  the 


156  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

union.*  This  particular  Charles  of  Lorraine  was  a 
singular  compound  of  energy  and  weakness.  He  was 
an  extremely  brave  man,  but  possessed  no  stability 
of  character,  and  by  his  constant  changes  of  policy  he 
contributed  more  than  any  other  prince  of  his  line  to 
destroy  the  independence  of  his  States. 

He  was  succeeded  in  1675  by  his  nephew  Charles  V, 
son  of  Cardinal  Nicholas  Francis  and  Claude.  This 
duke,  a  very  handsome  man,  also  had  several  love 
affairs,  notably  with  Marie  Mancini,  the  Princess  Mar- 
guerite Louise  of  Orleans,  and  the  Grande  Made- 
moiselle de  Montpensier.  The  French  still  occupied 
Lorraine,  and  as  Charles  V  would  not  subscribe  to  the 
Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees  or  that  of  Nimeguen,  or  give 
up  his  claims  to  Longwy  or  sanction  military  roads 
through  Lorraine  for  French  purposes,  he  was  never 
much  more  than  titular  Duke.  Brave  like  most  of  his 
forerunners,  and  a  very  capable  soldier — praised  in 
that  respect  by  the  great  Duke  of  Berwick — he  sided 
with  the  Germanic  Empire  against  France,  and  married 
Eleanor,  sister  of  the  Emperor  Leopold  I.  In  1690 
he  was  followed  by  his  son,  also  called  Leopold,  who 
by  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick  was  placed,  in  consequence 
of  the  military  reverses  of  France,  in  possession  of  his 
ancestral  dominions.  Nevertheless,  he  had  to  leave 
Longwy  and  Sarrelouis  to  Louis  XIV,  and  grant  a 
right  of  passage  through  his  States  to  French  troops. 

Seventy  years  of  warfare  and  frequent  foreign  occu- 
pation had  proved  disastrous  to  Lorraine.  Until  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in  spite  of  the 
frequency  of  hostilities,  the  duchy  had  been  a  progres- 
sive State.  At  the  period  just  mentioned  it  had  400,000 
inhabitants.  Even  its  mountainous  and  forest  re- 

*  I  have  extracted  some  of  the  above  particulars  from  a  previous  book 
of  mine,  "  The  Favourites  of  Louis  XIV."    (Chatto  and  Windus.) 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  157 

gions  were  becoming  populated,  and  commerce  and 
industry  were  increasing.  Great  fairs  were  held  in 
one  and  another  town,  and  attracted  traders  from 
many  parts  of  Europe.  In  the  wake  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, which  came  chiefly  from  Alsace,  a  democratic 
movement  set  in,  but  was  thrown  back  by  excesses, 
such  as  attended  the  rising  of  the  Rustauds.*  On  the 
other  hand,  the  advent  of  the  Reformation  led  to  the 
reform  of  some  of  the  religious  orders,  notably  the 
Benedictines  and  Premonstratensians.  Further,  in 
1572  Charles  the  Great  founded  the  first  university 
of  Lorraine  at  Pont-a-Mousson.  But  the  subsequent 
age  of  incessant  turmoil  brought  misery  with  it. 
There  were  pestilences,  famines,  ever-increasing  im- 
posts, incessant  marchings  and  counter-marchings  of 
plundering  soldiery.  Good  government  became  im- 
possible. It  is  acknowledged  that  the  French  officials 
who  were  appointed  by  Louis  XIII  and  Louis  XIV 
did  what  they  could  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the 
inhabitants,  but  the  task  devolving  on  them  was 
really  beyond  their  powers. 

Though  Duke  Leopold  had  an  Austrian  mother  he 
took  a  French  wife,  Elizabeth  Charlotte  of  Orleans, 
and  in  endeavouring  to  replace  the  administration  of 
his  States  on  an  orderly  basis  he  followed  French 
examples.  They,  perhaps,  were  scarcely  the  best 
guides,  for  in  spite  of  Colbert,  Vauban,  and  others, 
the  age  of  Louis  XIV  was  too  often  one  of  sheer 
oppression.  The  laws  introduced  by  Leopold  were 
mainly  copied  from  the  ordonnances  of  the  French 
monarch.  Native  traditions  were  disregarded,  in 
such  wise  that  the  assimilation  of  Lorraine  to 
France  steadily  increased.  The  financial  systems  be- 
came almost  identical.  In  spite,  however,  of  various 

*  See  pp.  33,  34,  81,  ante. 


158  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

errors,  Leopold  certainly  improved  the  condition  of 
his  people.  He  also  patronized  art  and  letters,  and 
built  a  great  deal.  About  the  time  of  his  accession 
Nancy  had  less  than  8000  inhabitants.  Eleven 
years  later  it  counted  nearly  15,000,  who  in  1734  had 
increased  to  nearly  20,000.  At  that  time,  it  is  re- 
corded, an  octroi  service  for  the  collection  of  municipal 
dues  on  provisions  and  other  commodities  coming 
into  the  town  had  been  established,  and  the  streets 
were  lighted  with  lanterns. 

For  a  while  Nancy  had  felt  the  evil  effects  of  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (October  22,  1685), 
though  in  a  less  degree  than  Metz,  which  is  said  to  have 
lost  two-thirds  of  its  population  at  that  time.  There 
were  dragonnades  and  other  persecutions  in  various 
parts  of  Lorraine.  The  Jews,  who  were  not  disturbed, 
profited  by  the  emigration  of  the  Protestants.  They 
had  been  expelled  from  the  Three  Bishoprics  in  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  but  during  the 
sixteenth  a  few  were  allowed  to  remain  for  a  short 
time  at  Metz.  Their  number  was  at  last  reduced  to 
four  families,  who  obtained  permission  to  continue 
residing  in  the  town  on  paying  200  crowns  apiece  to 
the  Bishop  and  an  annual  sum  of  200  limes  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poor.  They  were  to  receive  no  foreign 
Jews,  to  take  no  weapons  (unless  by  express  permission) 
as  security  for  loans,  and  to  levy  no  higher  weekly 
interest  than  one  denier  (the  twelfth  part  of  a  sou)  for 
every  lime  they  lent.  In  less  than  forty  years  those 
four  families  had  become  twenty-five.  In  1614  there 
were  58  families ;  in  1624,  76 ;  in  1657,  96 ;  and  in 
1674,  119,  comprising  665  males  and  females,  all 
descended  from  the  original  four  families  of  1556. 
This  increase  continued  afterwards.  In  1681  there 
were  no  fewer  than  1422  Jews  of  both  sexes  at  Metz. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  159 

In  1689,  32  refugees  from  the  Palatinate  obtained 
permission  to  settle  in  the  town,  where  in  1739  there 
were  altogether  530  Jewish  households,  representing 
2213  persons,  all  of  whom  resided  in  the  same  street, 
virtually  a  Ghetto,  where  exorbitant  rents  were 
paid  as  Jews  might  not  possess  house  property.  In 
order  to  remain  undisturbed  they  handed  large  sums, 
virtually  bribes,  to  members  of  the  corporation  and 
the  nobility.  Besides  being  subjected  to  very  heavy 
taxation  they  were  only  allowed  to  deal  in  certain 
specified  commodities.  Louis  XV  granted  his  mistress, 
the  Duchess  de  Chateauroux,  a  rente  on  the  Jews  of 
Metz  in  order  to  increase  her  income.  She  was 
parted,  however,  from  the  King  not  long  afterward 
and  succumbed  to  poison  administered  by  somebody 
jealous  of  her  influence.  It  was  about  this  period 
that  the  Jews  were  exempted  from  the  obligation  of 
having  to  wear  yellow  hats  to  distinguish  them  from 
all  good,  and  likewise  bad,  Christians.  In  connexion 
with  the  war  of  the  Austrian  Succession  (1741-1748) 
the  Lorraine  Jews  rendered  considerable  services  by 
bringing  horses  for  the  French  cavalry  from  Germany 
and  also  by  importing  grain.  They  are  said  to  have 
sacrificed  30,000  limes  in  these  matters,  and  it  was 
probably  as  a  reward  for  their  behaviour  that  the 
stigma  of  the  yellow  hat  was  removed. 

As  an  ecclesiastical  see  Metz  remained  under  the 
archiepiscopal  jurisdiction  of  Treves  until  in  the  early 
period  of  the  great  Revolution  it  came  under  the 
Archbishopric  of  Reims.  When,  however,  Napoleon 
restored  religion  he  placed  the  Bishop  of  Metz  under 
the  Archbishop  of  Besan£on,  and  this  continued  to 
be  the  position  until  the  annexation  by  Germany.  In 
ancient  times  the  city  figured  somewhat  prominently 
in  ecclesiastical  history,  eight  Church  Councils  being 


160  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

held  there.  At  one  of  these  it  was  enacted  that  no 
priest  should  have  more  than  one  church  or  benefice, 
a  regulation  which  would  have  horrified  many  a  fat 
pluralist  of  later  days.  The  same  sixth-century 
council  also  decreed  that  no  woman  whatsoever 
should  dwell  in  a  priest's  house,  even  though  she  were 
his  mother  or  his  sister.  As  time  elapsed  the  regula- 
tions became  less  and  less  stringent  in  this  respect. 
Nevertheless,  during  Duke  Leopold's  reign  (1690- 
1729)  we  find  bishops  ordaining  that  no  priest  should 
keep  a  housekeeper  aged  less  than  forty  years.  The 
Bishop  of  Toul  even  decreed  that  the  priests  and 
curates  in  his  diocese  should  not  visit  girls'  schools. 
In  1715  a  priest  convicted  of  adultery  with  a  notary's 
wife  was  ordered  to  pay  a  fine  equivalent  to  £100, 
and,  if  worth  more  than  that  amount,  to  have  all  his 
property  confiscated.  He,  however,  at  least  retained 
his  liberty  whereas  his  paramour  was  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  for  life.  Some  years  later  another 
priest,  convicted  of  ignoble  offences,  suffered  the 
death  penalty. 

Immorality  was  usually  punished  severely.  In 
one  case  an  unfaithful  wife  was  hanged  and  her  lover 
broken  on  the  wheel.  The  wife  of  a  locksmith  of 
Nancy  was  likewise  sentenced  to  death,  but  we  read 
that  her  husband,  compassionating  her  fate,  offered  to 
take  her  back,  and  thereby  saved  her  life.  In  another 
town  a  girl  found  in  a  barracks  was  sentenced  to 
perpetual  banishment.  On  the  other  hand  unfaithful 
husbands  escaped  with  fines  of  twenty  livres  or  there- 
abouts. Another  typical  case  was  that  of  a  count  who, 
having  a  son  by  his  wife's  maid,  was  sentenced  to 
bring  up  the  child  at  his  own  expense  and  in  due  time 
to  have  him  taught  a  trade.  There  were  horrible 
penalties  for  some  offences.  A  drunken  man  entered 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  161 

a  church  and  attempted  to  take  the  Communion.  He 
had  not  confessed,  and,  moreover,  instead  of  praying 
he  began  to  swear.  The  sentence  in  his  case  was  that 
his  tongue  should  be  pierced  with  a  red-hot  iron,  and 
that  he  should  afterwards  be  banished  from  the 
duchy.  The  clerk  of  a  court  of  justice  escaped  a 
similar  penalty  for  a  curious  reason.  He  was  con- 
victed of  having  used,  whilst  in  his  cups,  blasphemous 
language  about  the  Pope,  the  priesthood,  and  the 
Duke.  He  was  pardoned,  however,  on  it  being  urged 
in  his  favour  that  whenever  he  tippled  too  freely  he 
invariably  became  quarrelsome  and  offensive,  instead 
of  merry  like  other  people. 

After  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  the 
enactments  against  Protestants  were  particularly 
severe,  for  although  only  the  Three  Bishoprics  and 
a  few  other  districts  really  belonged  to  France,  the 
forces  of  Louis  XIV  were  to  be  found  all  over  the 
duchy.  In  the  case  of  Catholics  who  lapsed  from 
their  religion  into  Protestantism  there  was  but  one 
penalty — death  by  hanging.  From  time  to  time 
there  were  still  some  trials  for  sorcery,  and  unhappy 
victims  were  burnt  at  the  stake ;  but  these  cases  were 
far  less  numerous  than  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
when  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics  freely  put  so- 
called  witches  to  death. 

I  have  mentioned  that  priests  were  forbidden  to 
enter  girls'  schools,  and  may  add  that  in  most  localities 
schoolmasters  and  mistresses  were  elected  by  the 
burgesses  or  other  parishioners.  In  the  first  instance, 
however,  all  candidates  were  examined  respecting 
their  orthodoxy  and  attainments  by  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  and  only  those  regarded  fit  for  the  posts 
to  which  they  aspired  were  eligible  for  election.  One 
of  the  Bishops  of  Toul  took  a  wise  course  by  ordering 


162  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

that  whilst  children  should  first  say  their  prayers  in 
Latin,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Church,  they 
should  afterwards  repeat  them  in  French  in  order  that 
they  might  know  the  nature  of  their  prayer.  This 
appears  to  have  been  decreed  in  order  to  meet  the 
frequent  objection  of  the  Protestants,  that  the  folk 
who  said  their  prayers  in  Latin  had  no  notion  what 
they  meant. 

Some  proof  of  the  increasing  prosperity  of  Lorraine 
under  Duke  Leopold  and  his  successors  is  supplied 
by  the  following  figures.  In  1700,  ten  years  after 
Leopold's  accession,  the  taxes  brought  680,000  limes 
to  the  ducal  exchequer,  but  in  1729,  the  last  year  of  his 
reign,  they  yielded  1,915,620  limes.  In  1737,  soon 
after  the  accession  of  Stanislas  Leczinski,  it  was  found 
that  there  were  125,768  households  liable  to  payment 
of  taxes ;  and  M.  Ravold,  one  of  the  historians  of 
Lorraine,  estimates  that  allowing  for  the  large  number 
of  people  who  were  exempt  from  taxation,  and  also  for 
the  indigent  class,  the  above  figures  would  imply  that 
the  population  of  the  duchy  was  then  approximately 
760,000.  There  is  plenty  of  evidence  respecting  the 
steady  growth  of  industry  and  trade.  In  textiles, 
linen  and  cotton  goods  and  lace  were  to  the  fore. 
The  mines  were  worked  more  thoroughly  than  pre- 
viously. Tin  alone  gave  employment  to  2000  hands. 
There  were  numerous  smelting- works,  foundries,  and 
forges.  The  glass-works,  notably  at  Baccarat,  had 
become  extremely  important.  The  paper-mills  em- 
ployed some  500  hands,  and  produced  about  80,000 
reams  annually. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  French  troops  occupied 
various  parts  of  Lorraine  in  Duke  Leopold's  time.  In 
1702  Louis  XIV,  fearing  invasion,  garrisoned  Nancy, 
where  his  forces  remained  until  almost  the  end  of  his 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  163 

reign.  Leopold  lodged  a  mild  kind  of  protest  and 
then  settled  at  Luneville,  which  remained  the  usual 
residence  of  the  ducal  court  until  Lorraine  was  united 
to  France.  In  1707  Leopold's  conciliatory  policy 
induced  Louis  to  hand  over  the  town  of  Commercy, 
which  he  had  been  arbitrarily  detaining.  Further, 
under  the  regency  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  the  French 
restored  the  prevote  of  Longwy,  that  is,  apart  from  the 
actual  town  and  fortress  (the  latter  Vauban's  work), 
which  Louis  XIV  had  styled  the  "  Iron  Gate  of 
France."  As  some  compensation  for  the  retention  of 
the  stronghold,  Rambervillers  and  its  dependencies 
were  restored  to  the  Duke  of  Lorraine.  His  sover- 
eignty was  also  recognized  over  Saint-Hippolyte, 
Nomeny,  Saint- Avoid,  and  the  Abbey  of  Rieval.  In 
1728,  near  the  close  of  his  reign,  a  treaty  was  signed 
with  France  by  which  Lorraine  was  declared  to  be 
neutral  territory.  In  a  secret  clause,  however,  Leo- 
pold covenanted  to  allow  French  troops  the  right  of 
passage  through  the  duchy  "  in  case  of  absolute 
necessity,  as  happens  in  nearly  all  wars."  One  cannot 
read  those  last  words  without  thinking  of  what  hap- 
pened to  Belgium  in  1914. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Leopold's  rule  was  an  auto- 
cratic one,  based  on  the  system  which  sprang  up  in 
France  under  Louis  XIV.  The  old  constitutional 
methods  observed  by  earlier  Dukes  were  ignored,  and 
when  some  of  the  Lorraine  nobles  protested  against 
the  change  they  were  silenced  in  the  most  peremptory 
fashion.*  It  was  Leopold  who  gave  an  asylum  in 
Lorraine  to  the  Young  Pretender,  greatly  to  the 

*  Many  of  them  disliked  Leopold  because,  apart  from  levying  fees  on 
new  creations,  he  ordered  that  all  families  ennobled  by  the  Bishops  of  Metz, 
Verdun,  and  Toul,  and  by  the  Lords  of  Commercy  since  1616,  should  pay 
6000  Uvrea  apiece,  with  additional  sealing  duties,  for  confirmation  of  their 
rank. 


164  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

disgust  of  our  Hanoverian  sovereign.  Some  time 
afterwards  the  Duke  had  occasion  to  send  the  Marquis 
de  Lambertye  as  envoy  to  England,  but  George  II 
refused  to  receive  him,  and  the  only  result,  a  not 
unimportant  one,  of  the  Marquis's  journey  was  that 
he  brought  back  with  him  a  quantity  of  English 
seed  potatoes  which  were  of  a  much  superior  quality 
to  those  introduced  by  the  Swedes  about  1665  during 
the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Hitherto,  moreover,  the 
cultivation  of  potatoes  had  been  restricted,  as  the 
tubers  were  said  to  exhaust  the  soil,  but  from  Leo- 
pold's time  it  spread  greatly,  and  became  so  re- 
munerative that  under  the  French  regime  a  special 
tax  was  levied  on  potato  crops. 

Leopold's  wife,  Elizabeth  Charlotte  of  Orleans, 
whom  he  married  in  1699,  presented  him  with  four 
children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the 
girls  married  Charles  Emmanuel  of  Savoy,  King  of 
Sardinia,  and  the  other  became  Abbess  of  Remiremont. 
The  younger  son,  Charles  of  Lorraine,  entered  the 
Austrian  service,  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  married  one  of  the  Hapsburg  arch- 
duchesses. The  elder  ^on,  Francis  Stephen,  succeeded 
his  father  as  Duke  of  Lorraine  and  Bar.  Now  the 
policy  of  Duke  Leopold  had  been  to  conciliate  both  the 
kingdom  of  France  and  its  almost  constant  enemy, 
the  Germanic  Empire.  Placed  between  those  power- 
ful rivals,  Leopold  had  generally  striven  to  avoid 
entanglements  and  to  preserve  the  independence  of 
Lorraine.  Thus,  whilst  improving  his  relations  with 
France,  he  willingly  allowed  his  eldest  son,  when 
fourteen  years  of  age,  to  proceed  to  Vienna  and  com- 
plete his  education  there.  There  was  nothing  par- 
ticularly out  of  the  way  in  this,  as  the  Duke's  mother 
had  been  the  Austrian  Archduchess  Eleanor,  sister 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  165 

of  the  Emperor  Leopold  I.  At  the  time  when  Francis 
Stephen  went  to  Vienna,  that  is,  in  or  about  1715,  the 
imperial  throne  was  occupied  by  his  uncle  Charles  VI. 
The  young  fellow  grew  up  at  the  latter's  Court, 
accustoming  himself  to  its  vain,  semi-Spanish  cere- 
monial, and  the  haughty,  supercilious  manners  of  the 
Princes  of  the  Imperial  Blood.  When  his  father  died 
in  1729  he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  the  Emperor, 
who  had  created  him  Palatine  of  Hungary,  already 
intended  to  give  him  his  daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  in 
marriage. 

On  hearing,  however,  of  his  father's  death,  Francis 
Stephen  returned  to  Lorraine,  where  his  mother  had 
already  proclaimed  him  as  Francis  III,  and  assumed, 
as  Regent,  the  duties  of  Government.  She  had  also 
begun  to  levy  the  usual  dons  de  joyeux  av&nement — the 
"  joyful  accession  gifts  "  —in  both  Lorraine  and  Bar, 
the  contribution  of  the  former  duchy  being  fixed  at 
380,610  limes,  and  of  the  latter  at  174,710  limes. 
This  was  one  of  the  few  occasions  when  in  those  times 
nobles  and  ecclesiastics  had  to  draw  on  the  money  in 
their  coffers,  as  though  they  were  merely  common 
taxable  folk.  Francis  remained  in  Lorraine  until 
April  1731,  when  after  confirming  his  mother  in  the 
regency  he  again  departed  to  Vienna,  never  again  to 
set  eyes  on  his  ancestral  possessions.  His  subjects 
had  welcomed  him  because  he  was  their  Duke,  and 
they  had  always  been  attached  to  the  ducal  house. 
Never,  indeed,  were  there  more  loyal  folk  than  the 
Lorrainers  generally.  However  bad  any  particular 
Duke  might  be,  the  bulk  of  his  subjects  rallied  round 
him,  or  sympathized  with  him,  or  found  excuses  for 
his  errors  of  policy,  or  his  extravagance  or  his  breaches 
of  the  ordinary  laws.  On  their  side  the  Dukes, 
besides  invariably  being  brave  men,  had  also  been 


166  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

affable  ones  who  could  unbend  and  consort  with  their 
subjects  from  time  to  time.  But  this  Francis  III 
was  very  different.  He  had  become  essentially  a 
German,  and  particularly  a  Hapsburg. 

Both  of  his  grandmothers,  by  the  way,  were 
Germans,  one,  as  \ve  have  seen,  being  a  Hapsburg 
Archduchess,  and  the  other  that  famous  Charlotte 
Elizabeth  of  Bavaria,  commonly  called  the  Princess 
Palatine,  whose  correspondence  is  so  valuable  for  the 
history  of  her  times.  Married  to  Philip  I,  Duke  of 
Orleans,  brother  of  Louis  XIV,  she  became  by  him 
mother  of  the  Regent  of  France  as  well  as  of  Elizabeth 
Charlotte,  the  consort  of  Leopold  of  Lorraine. 

As  will  presently  be  shown,  Elizabeth  Charlotte  was 
intensely  French  in  her  sentiments,  and  it  is  possible 
that  if  her  son  Francis  III  had  not  been  removed  to 
Vienna  at  the  very  time  when  a  youth's  character  is 
beginning  to  develop,  she  might,  perhaps,  have  made 
him  less  of  a  German,  less  of  a  Hapsburg  than  he 
became  in  the  confined  atmosphere  of  the  Viennese 
Hofburg,  which  seized  hold  of  him  and  stifled  any 
generous  sentiments  originally  existing  in  his  nature. 
From  his  grandmother,  the  Archduchess  Eleanor,  he 
had  inherited — by  reason  of  that  curious  prepotency 
of  the  Hapsburgs,  female  as  well  as  male,  in  sexual 
relations — some  of  the  distinguishing  physical  features 
and  mental  characteristics  of  the  imperial  breed. 
These  had  been  developed  by  his  life  at  Vienna.  The 
contemptuous  haughtiness  which  this  young  man 
barely  in  the  twenties  displayed  towards  his  subjects 
of  Lorraine,  checked  the  affection  which  they  would 
otherwise  have  showered  on  him  ;  and  thus  when  he 
left  the  duchy — though  nobody  imagined  that  he 
would  never  again  return — there  were  few  if  any  who 
regretted  his  departure. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  167 

His  mother  the  Regent  was  much  liked,  and  the 
hearty  loyalty  which  he  rejected  was  transferred  to 
her.  She  freely  refers  to  him  in  her  correspondence 
as  her  "  German  son,"  and  complains  of  the  shameful 
manner  in  which  he  bled  Lorraine,  extracting  from 
the  duchy  every  lime  he  could,  and  spending  it 
at  Vienna.  In  a  word,  he  merely  regarded  Lorraine 
as  a  milch-cow.  The  Duchess-Regent  tells  us  that 
his  annual  revenues  amounted  to  5,960,000  livres, 
made  up  as  follows :  From  the  farmers-general, 
2,600,000 ;  from  the  subsidy,  otherwise  the  taille 
(that  is,  income  and  land  tax),  2,000,000 ;  from  the 
ducal  domains  and  the  forests,  910,000 ;  and  from 
casual  sources,  minting,  and  other  rights,  450,000 
livres.  Of  this  amount  he  expended  in  Lorraine  only 
about  1,200,000  livres  on  salaries,  the  upkeep  of  the 
ducal  stables  and  hunt,  and  allowances  to  his 
mother,  his  sisters,  and  his  younger  brother  Charles. 
Moreover,  he  only  paid  interest  on  the  debts  left 
by  his  father  (between  eight  and  nine  million 
livres),  without  reducing  the  principal  by  a  single 
copper. 

Now  in  1733  Augustus  II  or  the  Strong,  Elector 
of  Saxony  and  King  of  Poland,  died,  and  his  son 
Augustus  III,  the  only  legitimate  one  among  some 
three  hundred,  expected  to  be  elected  in  his  turn  to  the 
Polish  throne.  But  he  was  opposed  by  a  Nationalist 
party  which,  assembling  at  Warsaw  in  September  that 
same  year,  chose  a  compatriot,  Stanislas  Leczinski,* 
for  the  regal  dignity.  His  daughter  Marie  having 
become  the  wife  of  Louis  XV  of  France,  that  sovereign 
supported  his  claims.  On  the  other  hand  the  Emperor 
Charles  VI  upheld  those  of  Augustus  of  Saxony,  who 

*  There  are  various  spellings  of  this  name.     I  have  preferred  to  use  the 
least  complicated. 


168  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

had  married  one  of  his  daughters,  the  elder  sister  of 
Maria  Theresa.  The  Emperor  was  the  more  influenced 
in  this  matter  as,  having  no  male  heir,  he  desired  to 
leave  all  his  possessions  to  Maria  Theresa,  in  whose 
favour  was  issued  the  famous  deed  known  as  the 
Pragmatic  Sanction.  This  set  aside  the  legitimate 
rights  of  the  daughters  of  the  Emperor's  deceased 
brother,  Joseph  I,  and  also  those  of  Maria  Theresa's 
elder  sister,  whose  husband,  Augustus  of  Saxony, 
expecting  the  crown  of  Poland,  assented  to  this  course. 
In  return  the  Emperor  undertook  to  place  Augustus 
on  the  Polish  throne,  and  the  Russian  Empress,  Anna 
Ivanovna,  niece  of  Peter  the  Great,  was  a  party  to 
this  determination,  the  more  particularly  as  Stanislas 
Leczinski  had  been  a  companion  in  arms  and  in 
captivity  of  Russia's  enemy,  Charles  XII  of  Sweden. 
Charles  VI  and  Anna  therefore  intervened  by  force  of 
arms,  and  Leczinski  was  driven  from  Poland.  France 
having  declared  war  gained  some  victories  over  the 
Austrians,  but  was  ultimately  obliged  to  recognize 
Augustus  as  Polish  sovereign. 

One  must  now  pass  to  another  matter.  At  this 
same  period  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  was  John 
Gaston  de'  Medici,  son  of  Cosmo  III  by  Marguerite 
Louise,  daughter  of  Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother 
of  Louis  XIII.  John  Gaston  had  married  a  Bavarian 
princess  by  whom  he  had  no  children,  and  his  nearest 
relation  was  the  Duke  of  Parma,  who  was  also  childless. 
In  1725  therefore — ten  years  before  the  war  for  the 
Polish  Succession — France,  the  Empire,  and  Spain 
entered  into  a  treaty  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  the 
two  duchies  of  Tuscany  and  Parma  (with  which  was 
included  Piacenza)  should  pass  on  the  death  of  their 
respective  sovereigns  to  the  Infant  Don  Carlos,  later 
King  of  Naples.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  Polish  war, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  160 

however,  this  arrangement  was  cancelled  inasmuch 
as  it  concerned  Tuscany,  it  being  decided  by  pre- 
liminaries signed  at  Vienna  on  Octover  3,  1735,  that 
the  Grand  Duchy  should  go  to  Maria  Theresa's  des- 
tined husband,  Francis  III  of  Lorraine  and  Bar,  he 
on  his  side  relinquishing  those  States  in  favour  of 
Stanislas  Leczinski  to  compensate  the  last  named  for 
the  loss  of  the  Polish  crown.  It  was  further  stipulated 
that,  on  the  death  of  Stanislas,  Lorraine  and  Bar 
should  be  united  to  France.  Other  arrangements 
were  that  the  lordship  of  Falkenstein  belonging  to 
Francis  III  should  go  to  Austria,  that  the  nobles 
of  Lorraine  should  retain  the  right  to  sit  in  the 
Imperial  Diet,  and  that,  as  Francis  would  not 
come  into  possession  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Tuscany 
until  the  death  of  John  Gaston,  France  should 
pay  him  in  the  interval,  as  a  kind  of  pension,  a 
sum  of  4,500,000  livres,  and  also  discharge  the 
debts  left  by  his  father  to  the  amount  of  8,711,726 
livres. 

These  various  covenants  supply  a  remarkable 
illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  high  and  mighty 
princes  then  disposed  not  only  of  territories  but  also 
of  their  inhabitants,  whose  wishes  were  deemed  too 
contemptible  to  be  consulted.  We  see  a  Lorrainer, 
descended  from  the  old  house  of  France,  set  on  the 
Italian  throne  of  Tuscany,  a  Spaniard  placed  in  pos- 
session of  the  Two  Sicilies  and  Parma,  a  German 
Elector  of  Saxony  made  King  of  Poland,  and  a  Pole 
made  Duke  of  Lorraine  and  Bar.  Napoleon  did  some 
extraordinary  things  as  a  Kingmaker,  but  he  was  more 
consistent  in  his  methods,  uniformly  conferring  the 
regal  dignity,  as  in  the  case  of  Spain,  Holland,  Naples, 
and  Westphalia,  on  his  own  kinsfolk,  or,  as  in  the  case 
of  Saxony,  Bavaria,  and  Wiirttemberg,  allowing  native 


170  THETRUESTORYOF 

princes  of  inferior  status  to  assume  the  kingly 
title.* 

Bleeding  his  subjects  of  Lorraine  and  pocketing 
remittances  from  Louis  XV,  Duke  Francis  III  indulged 
himself  at  Vienna  in  gratifying  his  expensive  tastes. 
He  was  a  tailor's  man  with  a  passion  for  fine  clothes, 
and  history  has  preserved  a  record  of  a  coat  that 
cost  him  300,000  florins,  or  approximately  £25,000, 
precious  stones  being  sprinkled  plentifully  about  the 
embroidery.  Tucked  out  in  this  fashion  Francis 
paid  his  court  to  the  Archduchess  Maria  Theresa, 
whom  he  married  on  February  12,  1736,  he  then  being 
twenty-eight  and  she  nineteen  years  of  age.  Among 
the  children  afterwards  born  to  them  were  the 
Emperors  Joseph  II  and  Leopold  II,  and  Marie 
Antoinette,  who  died  upon  the  scaffold. 

John  Gaston  de'  Medici,  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany, 
an  affable  and  cultured  prince  with  a  hatred  of  bigotry 
and  an  inclination  towards  philosophic  doubt,  passed 
away  at  Florence  on  July  9,  1737.  Ten  days  later 
the  Tuscan  Senate  took  the  oath  to  Francis  of  Lorraine. 
Owing  to  his  grasping  nature  a  dispute  arose  respect- 
ing John  Gaston's  personal  property  and  effects,  to 
which  Don  Carlos  of  Naples  and  the  deceased's  sister, 
the  Electress  Palatine,f  had  better  claims.  Francis, 
however,  set  hands  on  everything  he  could.  There 
was  only  one  fly  in  his  ointment.  On  being  placed  in 
possession  of  Tuscany  his  French  pension  ceased,  and 
as  yet.  instead  of  4,500,000  livres,  he  had  only  received 

*  There  were  no  kings  except  the  titular  King  of  the  Romans  in  the  old 
Holy  Roman  Germanic  Empire.  The  highest  dignities  were  those  of  elector 
and  duke.  Prussia  did  not  form  part  of  the  Empire,  where  its  king  was  only 
Elector  of  Brandenburg.  The  old  emperors  would  not  allow  any  ruler  of 
lands  subject  to  the  imperial  suzerainty  to  assume  the  title  of  king. 

|  The  reigning  branch  of  the  famous  house  of  the  Medici  became  extinct 
at  her  death,  which  occurred  on  February  18,  1743. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  171 

1,300,193  and  14  sous  (sic).  Nothing  more  was  paid 
to  him  personally  by  the  French  government,  though 
certain  agreed  allowances  to  members  or  connexions 
of  the  old  house  of  Lorraine  were  continued  until  the 
Revolutionary  period  (1793). 

Although  a  few  Lorraine  nobles  followed  the  for- 
tunes of  their  former  Duke  and  betook  themselves  to 
Vienna,    while    others    joined    his    younger    brother 
Charles  at  Brussels,  the  people  generally  were  grief- 
stricken  at  finding  themselves  sold  like  a  herd  of 
cattle  by  the  degenerate  descendant  of  their  native 
dynasty.     The  town  and  county  of  Commercy  were 
by  agreement  assigned  to  the  Duchess-Regent,  Eliza- 
beth   Charlotte,    and   when    she    and   her   retainers 
quitted  Luneville,  the  seat  of  the  ducal  court,  people 
lined  the  roads,  knelt  before  her,  and  wept,  whilst 
begging  that  she  would  not  forsake  them.     Her  opinion 
of  her  son's  conduct  is  shown  by  a  letter  which  she 
wrrote  at  this  period.     She  bluntly  denounced  him  in 
it  as  a  degenerate,   and  after  refusing  to  join  her 
younger  son,  the  Governor  of  the  Austrian  Nether- 
lands, she  added  :    "I  greatly  love  Lorraine  and  the 
Lorrainers.     They  do  not  dislike  me,  and  so  I  will 
remain  with  them  until  the  end  of  my  days.     As  for 
the  Emperor  (Charles  VI)  I  would  rather  die  at  this 
moment  than  come  under  his  domination.     I  will 
live  my  own  life,  and  stay  here  unless  I  go  to  Paris 
should  the  King  (Louis  XV)  so  will  it.     He  is  the  head 
of  my  house,  and  I  will  always  obey  him  and  no  other 
power ;   and  if  he  allows  me  to  stay  here,  it  is  here  I 
hope   that   I   shall   end   my   days   (Luneville,    June 
1736)."* 

*  She  succumbed  to  an  attack  of  apoplexy  at  Commercy  on  December  23, 
1744,  and  was  much  regretted  by  the  Lorrainers. 


VI 
THE  STORY  OF  LORRAINE 

(FROM  THE  TIME  OF  STANISLAS  TO  1870) 

Stanislas  Leczinski  :  His  Disposition  and  Personal  Popularity  :  The 
Intendant  La  Galaiziere  :  Bad  Seasons  in  Lorraine  :  Excessive  Taxa- 
tion :  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  :  Louis  XV  at  Metz  :  More 
Taxation  and  Increasing  Unpopularity  of  La  Galaiziere  :  The 
Amours  of  Stanislas  :  His  French  Friends  :  His  Tragic  Death  : 
Lorraine  under  the  Old  French  Regime  :  Industrial  Prosperity  : 
Church  Abuses  :  Crimes  and  Punishments  :  The  Revolution  :  The 
Switzers  at  Nancy  :  Patriotism  of  Lorraine  :  Lorraine  under  Napo- 
leon :  The  last  Bourbon  Rule  :  The  People  of  the  Sarre  and  Prussia  : 
Napoleon  III  and  the  Coup  tfEtat  :  Last  Years  of  the  Second 
Empire. 

THE  Duchy  of  Bar  was  formally  transferred  to  Stanislas 
Leczinski  on  February  8,  1737,  and  that  of  Lorraine 
on  March  21  in  the  same  year.  One  of  his  com- 
patriots, a  certain  Baron  Mechec,  took  possession  of 
the  States  in  his  name.  Born  at  Lemberg,  the  capital 
of  Galicia,  Stanislas  was  at  this  time  sixty  years  of 
age.  His  early  career  had  been  most  adventurous. 
Apart  from  his  attempt  to  secure  the  kingdom  of 
Poland,  in  which  he  was  supported  by  his  more 
patriotic  countrymen,  he  had  distinguished  himself 
in  one  of  the  great  sieges  of  Dantzig,  and  as  a  close 
friend  of  both  the  famous  Charles  XII  of  Sweden 
and  Mazeppa,  the  renowned  Hetman  of  the  Cossacks, 
he  had  fought  at  that  Battle  of  Pultava  on  losing 
which  Charles  had  sought  a  refuge  in  Turkey,  whither 
Stanislas  accompanied  him.  But  those  wild  days 
were  past,  and  in  time  the  Polish  prince  had  become 

172 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  173 

corpulent  and  somewhat  indolent  also,  as  happens 
with  a  good  many  men  who  expend  their  vitality  too 
freely  in  their  early  days.  His  one  great  desire  was 
to  be  regarded  as  a  king,  and  when  the  transfer  of 
Lorraine  was  arranged  he  bethought  himself  of 
Merovingian  times  and  wished  his  new  State  to  be 
called  the  Kingdom  of  Austrasia.  But  France,  having 
the  reversion  of  the  duchy,  would  not  listen  to  his 
suggestion.  On  the  other  hand,  although  Poland 
was  for  ever  lost  to  him  he  had  certainly  been  elected 
to  its  throne,  and  on  that  account  was  always  known 
as  King  Stanislas,  even  among  the  Lorrainers,  who 
possibly  thought  this  a  good  way  to  distinguish  him 
from  their  native  dukes. 

Simple  in  his  habits,  personally  frugal,  Stanislas 
was  affable  and  good-natured  within  the  limits  which 
his  peculiar  circumstances  allowed.  In  one  respect 
his  character  was  contradictory.  Whilst  he  remained 
throughout  his  life  a  practising  Catholic,  friendly 
also  towards  the  Jesuits,  he  dabbled  in  the  philo- 
sophical ideas  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  attracted 
some  of  the  foremost  French  philosophers  to  his 
little  court.  In  another  respect  also  he  was  quite 
a  man  of  his  times,  having  a  strong  inclination 
towards  galanterie.  That  may  well  account  for 
the  bitter  tongue  ascribed  to  his  wife,  Catherine 
Opalinska,  who  often  had  good  cause  for  jealousy. 
Withal,  Stanislas  became  as  popular  among  the 
Lorrainers,  notably  those  of  Luneville  and  Nancy, 
as  was  possible  for  a  foreign  prince  thrust  upon  a 
people  who  had  never  expressed  any  desire  to  be 
ruled  by  him. 

Stanislas's  popularity  was,  however,  strictly  per- 
sonal. It  in  no  wise  extended  to  the  government 
which  was  imposed  upon  him  by  France.  In  every 


174  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

direction,  throughout  the  whole  eighteenth  century 
until  the  Revolution  burst  forth,  the  old  French 
regime  did  its  utmost  to  destroy  itself.  It  listened 
to  no  remonstrances,  it  gave  no  heed  to  any  warnings. 
Slowly  at  first,  but  at  a  gradually  quickening  pace,  it 
steadily  pursued  the  path  leading  to  the  precipice, 
as  if  suicide  were  its  set  purpose,  its  fixed  idea.  It 
had  two  mottoes,  one  emanating  from  the  King, 
Louis  XV,  who,  when  warned  of  the  rottenness  of 
the  whole  fabric,  remarked  :  "It  will  last  as  long  as 
I  shall  "  ;  and  the  other  attributed  to  his  mistress, 
La  Du  Barry  :  "  After  us  the  deluge  !  "  The  deluge, 
one  of  blood,  came,  however,  whilst  she  was  yet 
living,  and  it  overtook  her. 

Now,  before  the  time  of  Stanislas,  Lorraine  had 
more  than  once  had  experience  of  French  methods  of 
administration.  They  were  revived  under  the  Polish 
Duke,  who  was  put  in  leading-strings.  Under  the 
pretext  of  relieving  him  of  several  of  the  cares  of 
government  it  was  arranged  that  France  should  take 
charge  of  financial  matters,  military  affairs,  the 
appointment  of  officials,  the  control  of  the  great 
forests  and  other  branches  of  the  administrative 
system.  In  return  Stanislas  was  to  be  allowed 
1,500,000,  afterwards  increased  to  2,000,000,  limes 
per  annum,  equivalent,  it  is  estimated,  at  the  present 
time  to  about  £240,000.  The  result  was  as  follows  : 
The  French  and  Lorrainer  military  forces  were  placed 
under  the  command  of  the  Duke  de  Fleury,  who 
received  the  title  of  Governor  of  the  Duchies,  whilst 
all  civil  affairs  were  committed  to  the  charge  of  a 
certain  Antoine  Martin  Chaumont  de  La  Galaiziere, 
hitherto  Intendant  at  Soissons,  and  brother-in-law  of 
Jean  Orry,  previously  Comptroller-General  of  Finances 
in  France.  In  Lorraine  and  Bar,  La  Galaiziere  took 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  175 

the  titles   of  Chancellor,   Keeper  of  the   Seals,   and 
Intendant. 

He  appears  to  have  been  a  clever  man  and  an 
honest  one,  but  he  soon  became  extremely  unpopular 
by  reason  of  his  incessant  exactions.  As  Intendant 
he  covered  the  duchies  with  officials,  so-called  delegates 
and  sub-delegates,  who  spent  their  time,  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  in  wringing  money  out  of  townsfolk 
and  villagers.  Men  shrank  at  last  from  accepting 
the  once  honourable  office  of  syndic,  or  mayor,  of 
a  commune.  Those  who  occupied  this  position  were 
made  responsible  for  the  commune's  taxes,  and  Mon- 
seigneur  1' Intendant  and  Monsieur  le  Delegue  or 
Sous-Delegue  were  never  disposed  to  accept  any 
excuses.  The  taxes  had  to  be  paid  in  full  and  punctu- 
ally on  a  certain  date,  or  woe  to  the  unfortunate 
syndic  who  was  not  ready  with  the  money.  To 
avoid  unpleasant  consequences,  syndics  possessed  of 
means  sometimes  paid  the  amount  demanded  out 
of  their  own  pockets,  and  had  to  wait  perhaps  a 
couple  of  years  before  recovering  from  their 
parishioners  the  money  which  they  thus  advanced. 
This  kind  of  thing  often  happened  in  rural  districts. 
Severe  frosts,  great  storms,  floods,  spells  of  excessively 
hot  weather  were  frequent  in  Lorraine  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  One  year  there  were  earth- 
quakes ;  at  another  time  came  a  plague  of  locusts. 
Stanislas  reigned  from  February  1737  to  February 
1766,  and  I  find  that  in  fourteen  of  those  nine  and 
twenty  years  there  was  one  or  another  calamity 
which  led  either  to  a  scanty  harvest  or  to  some  other 
cause  of  widespread  distress.  The  year  1754  was 
known  particularly  as  the  "  year  of  misery."  Never- 
theless, come  flood,  come  storm,  withering  heat, 
earthquake,  or  plague  of  insects,  Monseigneur  1'Inten- 


176  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

dant  expected  all  taxes  to  be  paid  as  if  nothing 
whatever  had  happened.* 

Arthur  Young  records  in  his  famous  survey  of 
France  (1787-1789)  that  the  plains  of  Lorraine  were 
among  the  worst  cultivated  in  the  whole  country. 
He  would  have  understood  the  cause  better  had  he 
known  that  since  the  union  of  the  duchy  with  France, 
after  the  death  of  Stanislas — that  is,  a  period  of 
little  more  than  twenty  years — there  had  again  been 
no  fewer  than  nine  bad  years,  some  indeed  when  all 
the  crops  had  suffered.  Like  1754,  1771  was  a  year 
of  the  greatest  distress ;  and  about  the  time  when 
Young  was  writing  his  work,  the  winter  (1788- 
1789)  in  Lorraine  proved  so  extremely  severe  that 
many  walnut-trees  as  well  as  vines  perished.  Apart 
from  those  visitations  of  nature,  the  peasantry, 
bowed  down  by  many  burdens,  were  destitute 
of  the  pecuniary  resources  required  for  really  good 
husbandry. 

The  two  terrible  winters  of  1739  and  1740  led  to 
very  great  scarcity  in  J:he  following  year,  and  riots 
broke  out  at  Luneville,  Vezelise,  Dieuze,  Enville,  and 
other  places.  Some  severe  sentences  ensued,  but 
Stanislas,  who  had  retained  the  prerogative  of 
clemency,  granted  a  number  of  pardons.  Matters 
had  scarcely  improved  when  the  War  of  the  Austrian 
Succession  broke  out.  France  joined  Prussia  in 
supporting  the  cause  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria 
(proclaimed  as  Emperor  Charles  VII)  against  that 
of  Maria  Theresa.  The  Lorraine  militia  was  con- 
sidered barely  sufficient  to  defend  the  duchy,  and 
accordingly  six  battalions,  each  of  600  men,  were 

*  The  French  farmers-general  now  had  a  finger  in  the  pie  and  paid 
3,300,000  livres  per  annum  for  their  privilege.  The  tax  called  the  subvention 
or  faille  was  fixed  in  1738  at  1,800,000  livres,  a  considerable  increase  on 
previous  years. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  177 

immediately  raised  and  taken  into  the  French  service, 
into  which  the  Lorraine  Guards  had  been  already 
drafted.  A  little  later  three  bodies  of  cavalry  were 
recruited.*  A  sum  of  twenty-one  limes  per  man  was 
levied  on  each  commune  supplying  recruits,  in  order 
that  the  latter  might  be  provided  with  suitable  cloth- 
ing, and,  in  addition,  Marshal  Belle-Isle  requisitioned 
250,000  allowances  of  hay,  straw,  and  wood. 

Maria  Theresa's  partisan  leader,  Menzel  of  the 
Pandours,  invaded  the  Sarre  region  and  was  joined  by 
some  of  the  people  there.  Next,  Prince  Charles  of 
Lorraine  crossed  the  Rhine  in  command  of  regular 
Austrian  forces.  The  greatest  scarcity  then  prevailed 
throughout  the  duchy,  corn  being  almost  unprocurable. 
Semi-starvation  set  in,  and  matters  had  scarcely 
improved  when  the  defeat  of  the  French  by  the 
troops  commanded  by  George  II  of  Great  Britain  at 
Dettingen  (July  27,  1743)  caused  general  dismay. 
Somewhat  later  Prince  Charles  captured  Wissem- 
bourg  and  was  joined  by  various  malcontent  nobles. 
Stanislas  thereupon  took  shelter  in  Metz,  at  the  same 
time  sending  his  wife  to  Versailles  with  all  her  jewel- 
lery. Bitche,  Fenestrange,  Bouquenom,  Sarregue- 
mines,  and  Sarrelouis  had  been  garrisoned  and  pro- 
visioned in  order  to  resist  the  invaders.  There  was 
a  moment  of  serious  alarm,  particularly  as  Maria 
Theresa  issued  a  manifesto  calling  upon  the  duchy  to 
rise  against  Stanislas,  and  declaring  that  her  husband 
(the  man  who  had  sold  Lorraine)  would  speedily  repair 
thither  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  all  who  would 
join  him.  Nobody  rose,  however,  and  La  Galaizi£re 
faced  the  situation  in  a  very  determined  way. 

*  The  infantry  battalions  were  known  as  Nancy,  Bar,  Sarregueminea, 
Etain,  Epinal,  and  Neuf chateau.  The  cavalry  were  called  Polignac,  Marain- 
ville,  and  Lacroix,  after  their  commanders. 


178  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Some  French  successes  at  last  brought  about  a 
change,  whereupon  Louis  XV,  yielding  to  the  exhorta- 
tions of  the  Duchess  de  Chateauroux,  arrived  at 
Metz  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  forces.  Then 
for  a  brief  space  all  became  festivity  in  the  old 
Lorraine  city,  which  had  not  seen  a  king  of  France 
since  the  time  of  Henri  II's  great  triumphal  entry 
nearly  two  hundred  years  previously,  though  it  had 
been  the  original  capital  of  the  early  warlike,  hard- 
riding  Dukes,  who  did  not  transfer  their  government 
to  Nancy  until  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century. 
To  Metz  with  the  King  had  come  Madame  de  Chateau- 
roux, much  to  the  scandal  of  all  "  right-thinking  " 
folk ;  nevertheless  people  from  other  parts  of  Lor- 
raine poured  into  the  city  to  see  the  King  and  join 
in  the  fetes  which  followed  his  arrival.  But  Louis 
suddenly  fell  very  ill,  prayers  were  offered  up  for 
his  recovery,  the  clergy  exhorted  him  to  dismiss  the 
"  scarlet  woman  "  whom  he  had  brought  with  him, 
and  after  she  had  narrowly  escaped  being  murdered 
by  the  populace  he  weakly  assented,  whereupon,  of 
course,  Heaven  promptly  cured  him,  and  joy  was 
displayed  on  every  side.  "  I  did  not  know  I  was  so 
much  loved,"  he  is  said  to  have  remarked  ;  and  those 
words  probably  inspired  the  appellation  of  "  the  Well- 
beloved"  bestowed  on  him  at  this  time,  and  often 
repeated  in  later  years  in  a  sense  quite  foreign  to 
that  which  had  been  originally  intended. 

Hostilities  lasted  until  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  in  1748,  when,  although  owing  to  floods  and 
storms  there  was  still  great  scarcity  in  Lorraine,  its 
people  breathed  again.  But  in  1756,  after  much  more 
distress,  the  Seven  Years'  War  began,  bringing  with  it 
yet  fresh  anxiety  and  suffering.  Never  had  La  Galai- 
ziere,  who  was  still  at  the  head  of  affairs,  shown  him- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  179 

self  more  exacting.  Two  super- taxes  ("  twentieths  ") 
had  already  been  imposed,  when  in  1760  the  Inten- 
dant  decided  to  levy  a  third  one,  which  would  have 
meant  a  total  increase  of  60  per  cent,  above  the 
rate  paid  before  the  war.  Lorraine  and  Bar  had  in 
this  way  already  supplied  3,790,971  limes  ;  husband- 
men (laboureurs)  paying  80  livres  9  and  common 
labourers  (manoeuvriers)  20  livres  apiece.  In  the 
state  to  which  the  country  was  reduced  the  idea  of 
yet  heavier  taxation  aroused  general  protests.  When 
La  Galaiziere  summoned  the  Sovereign  Court  to 
attend  at  Luneville  to  register  the  edict,  the  nobles 
who  answered  the  call  protested  that  the  farmers 
were  being  ruined,  and  could  no  longer  pay  any 
rents  either  in  money  or  in  kind.  The  dispute  became 
so  violent  that  the  French  authorities  at  Versailles 
were  alarmed,  and  a  compromise  was  effected,  La 
Galaiziere,  much  to  his  chagrin,  having  to  obey  the 
orders  he  received.  Briefly,  the  edict  was  registered, 
but  the  third  "twentieth"  was  not  levied. 

In  lieu  thereof  La  Galaiziere  imposed  on  the  clergy 
a  "  gift  to  the  Crown,"  whereby  he  secured  some 
200,000  livres.  Other  sums  were  levied  in  a  similar 
way  on  certain  towns.  At  this  period  the  cost  of  the 
administration  had  become  excessive,  for  since  the 
accession  of  Stanislas,  La  Galaiziere  had  added  no 
fewer  than  1300  officials  to  those  previously  existing, 
in  such  wise  that  on  its  bureaucracy  alone  the  little 
State  expended  more  than  five  million  livres  a  year. 
One  improvement  was  effected  by  the  Intendant. 
During  the  terrible  "  year  of  misery,"  1754 — though 
not  before — free  trade  in  grain  was  established  between 
Bar,  Lorraine,  and  France.  This  measure  enabled 
the  distressed  duchies  to  secure  some  supplies  which 
were  desperately  needed. 


180  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

La  Galaiziere's  unpopularity  did  not  arise  solely 
from  the  excessive  taxation.  He  showed  no  regard 
for  some  of  the  feelings  of  the  inhabitants.  They  had 
been  much  attached  to  their  former  dynasty  and 
cherished  many  stirring  historical  memories.  But 
the  Intendant  decided  that  all  such  nonsense  must 
be  stamped  out.  He  forbade  at  Nancy  the  famous 
time-honoured  procession  in  commemoration  of  Duke 
Rene's  victory  over  Charles  the  Rash  of  Burgundy. 
He  caused  busts  and  portraits  of  the  old  Dukes  to 
be  removed — often  destroyed.  He  demolished  several 
historic  castles,  abbeys,  and  churches.  He  prevailed 
on  Stanislas  to  abolish  the  Marshals  of  Lorraine  and 
the  office  of  Grand  Seneschal.  It  mattered  not  to 
him  that  the  former  dynasty  had  sprung  from  the 
House  of  France.  He  foolishly  endeavoured  to  oblite- 
rate all  traces  of  it.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  he 
willingly  aided  Stanislas  in  his  well-meant  enterprise 
to  improve  and  embellish  Nancy.  The  city  was 
virtually  transformed,  and  much  of  the  architectural 
work  done  there  was  in  its  way  quite  excellent.  But 
what  most  pleased  La  Galaiziere  was  the  demolition 
of  the  older  buildings,  the  original  ducal  palace  and 
gate  especially.  Stanislas  founded  or  enlarged  several 
hospitals,  endowed  the  Order  of  Saint  John  of  Jerusa- 
lem in  his  duchies,  encouraged  education,  establishing 
burses  at  the  University  of  Pont-a-Mousson,  building 
a  College  of  Medicine  and  setting  up  a  Society  of 
Sciences  and  Belles-Lettres  at  Nancy — the  last  named 
afterwards  taking  the  name  of  Academic  Stanislas. 
In  his  time  also  Saint-Die,  largely  destroyed  by  fire, 
was  rebuilt,  and  Plombieres,  famous  for  its  waters, 
was  much  improved.  It  is  commonly  held  that 
Stanislas  paid  for  all  the  work,  all  the  foundations 
here  mentioned ;  but  this  appears  to  be  incorrect. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  181 

During  his  reign  of  nine  and  twenty  years  he  certainly 
laid  out  in  this  manner  some  8,500,000  livres,  but  the 
Lorrainers  themselves  had  to  defray  the  greater  part 
of  the  expenditure  which  was  incurred.  It  has  been 
remarked  that  although  Nancy  took  rank  as  one  of 
the  finest  cities  in  France,  it  was  also  one  of  the  very 
poorest,  so  heavily  was  it  taxed  to  pay  for  its  improve- 
ments. Some  of  its  new  embellishments  it  by  no 
means  appreciated.  When  in  1755  a  statue  of  Louis 
the  Well-beloved  was  inaugurated  on  the  Place 
Royale,  the  inhabitants  hooted  the  effigy  of  the 
licentious  monarch. 

Stanislas  was  almost  as  amorously  inclined  as  his 
son-in-law,  and  kept  several  mistresses,  the  most 
notorious  of  them  being  the  Marchioness  de  Boufflers, 
nee  de  Beauvau,  on  whom,  according  to  some  accounts, 
he  spent  2,000,000  livres,  though  others  state  that 
he  allowed  her  barely  sufficient  money  to  pay  for 
her  skirts.  Several  Polish  women  of  title  are  also 
said  to  have  been  his  favourites  at  various  periods, 
among  them  being  the  Duchess  Ossolinska  and  the 
Countess  Jablonowska,  the  last  of  whom  became  one 
of  the  mistresses  of  the  Young  Pretender.  On  the 
whole,  there  were  only  a  few  Poles  of  both  sexes  at 
the  little  Court  of  Luneville.  Members  of  the  French 
and  the  Lorrainer  nobility  predominated.  Stanislas 
appears  to  have  been  on  good  terms  with  the  ancient 
houses  of  Haraucourt,  Lenoncourt,  Ligneville,  and 
du  Chatelet — the  four  "  Grands  Chevaux  de  Lor- 
raine," or  leaders  of  the  duchy's  ancient  chivalry. 
Other  members  of  the  noblesse  who  attached  them- 
selves to  Stanislas  were  the  Nettancourts,  the  Haus- 
sonvilles,  the  Lambertyes,  the  Tornielles,  and  the 
Serinchamps.  The  Countess  de  Choiseul  and  the 
Countess  de  Raigecourt  were  ladies  of  the  palace 


182  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

under  the  Marchioness  de  Boufflers.  To  Luneville 
also  came  the  beautiful,  witty,  and  accomplished 
Marquise  du  Chatelet,  accompanied  by  her  lover 
Voltaire,  who  wrote  his  famous  story  "  Zadig  "  to 
entertain  the  Court  of  Stanislas.  It  first  appeared 
in  print  at  Luneville.  Voltaire  was  not  the  only 
great  writer  attracted  to  Lorraine.  Thither  also 
came  Montesquieu.  There  were  others  of  lesser  note, 
including  Palissot  de  Montenoy,  then  quite  a  young 
man,  and  not  as  yet  high  pontiff  of  the  so-called 
"  theophilanthropical  "  sect.  Other  familiars  of  the 
circle  which  Stanislas  gathered  around  him  were  the 
Viscount  de  Rohan  and  the  Count  de  Tressan. 

I  mentioned  previously  that  whilst  dabbling  in 
philosophy  he  favoured  the  Jesuits,  whose  dispersion 
in  1762  by  order  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris  greatly 
affected  him.  He  also  protected  the  Jews,  who  soon 
after  his  death  were  persecuted  by  the  French  authori- 
ties.* His  wife,  Catherine  Opalinska,  died  suddenly 
in  1747,  when  sixty-six  years  old.  They  had  been 
married  more  than  half  a  century.  At  this  time 
Stanislas  himself  was  eighty.  Nevertheless,  four  years 
later,  there  was  an  attempt  to  marry  him  to  Christina 
of  Saxony,  sister  of  the  Dauphiness  who  became  the 
mother  of  Louis  XVI.  Christina  was  fifty-five  years 
younger  than  Stanislas,  and  the  French  Court  would 
not  hear  of  the  match — not,  however,  on  account  of 
disparity  in  age,  but  from  a  fear  lest  the  princess 
should  present  the  old  Lothario  with  offspring, 
thereby  causing  complications  at  his  death. 

He  became  very  feeble  in  his  last  days.     Many  of 

*  By  an  edict  of  April  1766  only  twelve  Jewish  families  were  allowed  at 
Nancy,  four  at  MalzevUle,  and  two  at  LuneVille.  Moreover,  they  were  only 
tolerated  in  those  towns  on  the  condition  they  should  have  no  children  ! 
Most  of  the  Lorrainer  Jews  had  to  reside  at  Sarreguemines,  Boulay,  Dieuze, 
and  adjacent  places. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  183 

his  old  cronies  predeceased  him,  and  at  times  he 
invited  some  of  the  bourgeois  of  Luneville  to  visit 
him  and  join  in  a  game  of  tric-trac,  his  favourite 
pastime.  His  death  was  a  tragical  affair.  He  had 
returned  to  Luneville  from  a  trip  to  Nancy,  where 
according  to  one  account  he  had  received  "  Lady 
Mary  Churchill,  daughter  of  Robert  Walpole,  and 
her  husband,"  *  and  at  about  six  o'clock  on  the 
following  morning,  February  4,  1766,  he  was  sitting 
by  the  fireside  in  his  bedroom,  wearing  a  fur-lined 
dressing-gown  which  his  daughter,  the  Queen  of 
France,  had  sent  him  to  keep  out  the  cold.  One 
account  says  that  he  had  been  smoking  his  pipe,  and 
that  on  wishing  to  place  it  on  the  mantelpiece  his 
dressing-gown  caught  fire.  Another  version  is  that 
he  wished  to  see  the  time  by  a  watch  or  a  clock  on 
the  mantelpiece,  and  that  owing  to  the  feebleness  of 
his  eyesight  he  drew  too  close  to  the  fire.  At  all 
events  his  dressing-gown  was  speedily  alight,  and  he 
fell  on  the  floor  shrieking. 

A  maid-servant  heard  him,  and  called  one  of 
the  Bodyguard,  who  rushed  to  the  bedroom.  A  gust 
of  air  which  followed  the  sudden  opening  of  the  door 
fanned  the  flames,  but  they  were  extinguished  by 
wrapping  Stanislas  in  blankets  after  he  had  been 
deposited  on  his  bed.  All  the  injuries  appear  to 
have  been  on  the  left  side,  and  the  flesh  of  the  left 
hand  is  said  to  have  been  quite  burnt  away.  Every- 
thing was  done  to  save  the  old  man,  and,  in  fact, 
after  a  few  days'  treatment  the  sores  seemed  to  be 
healing,  and  he  spoke  of  his  accident  almost  lightly, 
saying  :  "  My  daughter  warned  me  against  catching 
cold,  she  should  have  warned  me  against  getting  too 
hot."  But  his  time  was  nearly  spent.  He  had  con- 

*  I  have  failed  to  identify  the  lady  in  question. 


184  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

fessed  to  Cardinal  de  Choiseul,  Primate  of  Lorraine, 
and  received  the  Sacrament,  when  on  February  21 
he  sank  gradually  into  a  comatose  state  and  three 
days  later  expired. 

By  the  care  of  his  daughter,  the  consort  of  Louis 
XV,  Stanislas  was  honoured  with  stately  obsequies, 
his  remains  being  deposited  beside  those  of  his  wife 
in  the  sanctuary  of  Our  Lady  of  Good  Help,  originally 
erected  by  Duke  Rene*  to  commemorate  the  defeat 
of  Charles  the  Rash  at  Nancy,  but  rebuilt  by  the 
Polish  prince.  Even  whilst  the  latter  was  being 
buried,  his  arms  were  struck  off  all  public  buildings 
by  the  eager  officials  of  Louis  XV.*  Six  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  years  had  elapsed  since  Gerard  of  Alsace, 
according  to  tradition,  had  become  hereditary  Duke 
of  Lorraine.  Now,  by  virtue  of  the  diplomatic  con- 
ventions, the  duchy  ceased  to  be  independent,  and 
the  eaglets  of  its  armorial  bearings  had  to  give  place 
to  the  fleurs-de-lis  of  France. 

For  a  moment  the  Lorrainers  derived  some  comfort 
from  the  fact  that,  immediately  after  the  death  of 
Stanislas,  the  obnoxious  Chancellor  and  Intendant, 
La  Galaizi^re,  resigned  his  office,  and,  repairing  to 
Versailles,  was  there  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Conseil  du  Roi.  He  was  succeeded  in  Lorraine,  how- 
ever, by  his  son,  who  pursued  much  the  same  policy. 
In  regard  to  taxation  f  and  other  abuses,  matters 
did  not  improve  under  Thiroux  de  Crosne  and  La 

*  His  wardrobe  was  sold  by  auction  on  one  of  the  public  squares  of 
Lun6ville. 

f  One  little  place  in  Lorraine  was  exempt  from  all  taxation.  This  was 
Domremy  on  the  Meuse,  in  the  present  department  of  the  Vosges,  arrondisse- 
ment  of  Neufchateau.  The  exemption  dated  from  the  time  of  Joan  of  Arc, 
who  was  born  at  Domremy  in  1412.  In  the  old  taxation  registers  of  Lorraine, 
against  the  name  of  the  village  there  is  written,  instead  of  any  amount, 
"  Neant,  a  cause  de  la  Pucelle  "  (Nothing,  on  account  of  the  Maid).  The 
privilege  remained  in  force  until  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  185 

Porte  de  Meslay,  who  followed  La  Galaiziere  fits. 
The  old  regime  treated  Lorraine  and  Bar  as  a  state 
dependency  divided  into  thirty-six  bailliages,  or  juris- 
dictions. The  three  bishoprics  of  Metz,  Verdun,  and 
Toul,  and  their  territories  still  constituted  a  separate 
intendance,  or  generalite,  in  the  midst,  as  it  were,  of 
the  intendance  of  Lorraine.  Simplification  of  admini- 
strative work  was  not  favoured  by  the  authorities  of 
those  times.  A  complicated  state  of  affairs  implied 
a  multiplicity  of  officials  and  better  opportunities  for 
robbing  both  the  people  and  the  State.  Nevertheless 
certain  changes  took  place  in  Lorraine.  For  instance, 
the  Sovereign  Court  of  Nancy  was  transformed  into 
a  parlement,  and  given  supreme  jurisdiction  even 
over  the  bishoprics,  the  parlement  of  Metz  being 
suppressed  so  long  as  Louis  XV  remained  king. 
Further,  the  University  of  Pont-a-Mousson  was  trans- 
ferred to  Nancy  (1768),  and  eight  or  nine  years  after- 
wards Nancy  and  Saint-Die"  became  ecclesiastical 
sees.  Down  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution  there 
remained  only  one  military  governorship,  which  was 
located  at  Nancy.  Probably  the  most  distinguished 
soldier  who  held  this  post  in  the  eighteenth  century 
was  Marshal  de  Choiseul- Stain ville. 

Under  Stanislas  and  the  succeeding  French  ad- 
ministration the  population  of  Lorraine  increased 
considerably,*  but  there  was  a  steady  diminution  of 
the  number  of  people  engaged  in  agriculture.  This 
was  largely  due  to  the  frequent  recurrence  of  bad 
seasons  and  the  better  livelihood  provided  by  industrial 
occupations.  Although,  curiously  enough,  there  was 
no  free  trade  (except  in  grain)  with  the  rest  of  France, 
industry  and  commerce  expanded.  Nancy  grew  apace, 
largely  by  reason  of  its  manufactures.  Among  the 

*  In  1778  the  figure  was  £94,275,  and  in  1789,  934,860. 


186  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

many  kinds  of  goods  made  there  and  in  neighbouring 
towns  during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
were  carpets,  tapestry,  plush,  cloth,  ribbons,  hosiery, 
and  candles.  Other  branches  of  industry  were  a 
special  kind  of  embroidery,  organ-building,  wood-carv- 
ing, marquetry,  and  terra-cotta  work.  Beer  appears 
to  have  been  brewed  only  at  Nancy  and  Dieulouard. 
There  were  spirit,  liqueur,  and  syrup  distilleries  at 
Luneville  and  elsewhere.  A  special  kind  of  vulne- 
raire,  into  which  iron  or  steel  entered,  was  made  in 
Lorraine  and  supplied  largely  to  French  soldiers  in 
the  field  for  the  treatment  of  wounds.  Perfumery 
and  vinegar  works  were  also  to  be  found.  There  were 
tanneries  all  over  the  province.  Drugget  and  coarse 
cloth  were  largely  manufactured.  Among  the  adepts 
in  arts  and  crafts  one  finds  many  painters,  engravers, 
sculptors,  woodcarvers,  faience-workers,  embroiderers, 
and  gilders.  Cutlers,  toolmakers,  and  locksmiths  wrere 
also  numerous.  The  salt  industry,  which  supplied 
the  old  regime  with  an  important  source  of  revenue, 
likewise  expanded,  the  salines  of  Moyenvic,  Dieuze, 
and  Chateau- Salins  being  largely  worked.  The  salt- 
water spring  of  Rosieres  was  destroyed,  however,  by 
somebody  tampering  with  it.  The  glass-works  of 
Baccarat  were  yet  more  and  more  developed.  Metal- 
lurgical industry  increased ;  and  there  was  much 
basket-making  in  the  region  around  Verdun,  many 
osier  beds  existing  beside  the  Meuse. 

Nevertheless  beggars  are  said  to  have  abounded, 
and  the  nobility,  whether  of  sword  or  of  gown,  was 
more  numerous  than  ever.  The  late  Cardinal  Mathieu, 
a  native  of  Lorraine,  admits  in  one  of  his  works  that 
gross  abuses  prevailed  among  the  clergy,  particularly 
the  regulars.  The  exactions  of  the  numerous  abbeys 
and  convents  were  very  great.  The  Carthusian  Order 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  187 

was  the  only  one  cited  for  its  charity.  The  Chapters 
of  Noble  Ladies,  established  at  Remiremont,  Poussay, 
Epinal,  Romaric,  Bouxieres,  etc.,  seldom  proved 
benevolent,  but  usually  acted  in  a  very  grasping 
manner  towards  their  tenantry.  These  foundations, 
however,  declined  considerably  during  the  twenty 
years  preceding  the  Revolution.  In  1789  the  Chapter 
of  Remiremont  still  counted  fifty-two  members, 
but  Epinal  had  only  twenty-two,  Poussay  seventeen, 
and  Bouxieres  a  baker's  dozen.  With  regard  to 
crime  it  is  stated  that  between  1737  and  1790  there 
were  203  sentences  to  the  galleys  for  life,  and 
274  to  the  galleys  for  various  periods.  Robbery 
was  the  offence  most  usually  visited  with  these 
punishments.  Only  some  fifty  cases  of  crimes  of 
violence  are  recorded  in  the  lists,  together  with 
fourteen  cases  of  forgery,  three  of  incest,  and  forty- 
eight  of  common  debauchery.  I  find  no  exact  figures 
respecting  the  number  of  people  executed,  either  by 
hanging  or  by  strangulation.  There  was  a  case  of 
profaning  an  historic  chapel,  for  which  the  offenders 
suffered  death,  after  first  having  their  right  hands 
burnt  off ;  and  another  of  pillaging  a  house  near 
Phalsbourg,  for  which  seven  peasants  underwent  capital 
punishment,  it  being  afterwards  discovered  that  all 
of  them  were  innocent ! 

In  1788  Louis  XVI's  Minister,  Lomenie  de  Brienne, 
attempted  a  general  reorganization  of  Lorraine.  The 
parlement  of  Metz,*  restored  after  the  previous  King's 

*  The  parlements  of  the  old  French  regime  were  not  parliaments  as  we 
understand  them  nowadays,  but  more  particularly  high  courts  of  justice. 
Their  chief  administrative  duties  were  to  register  the  edicts  emanating  from 
the  throne,  which,  on  being  registered,  acquired  force  of  law.  Their  chief 
political  right  was  that  of  remonstrating  when  they  regarded  some  edict 
as  being  unduly  harsh,  but  their  refusals  to  register  and  their  remonstrances 
were  generally  overruled  in  one  or  another  way. 


188  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

death,  was  again  deposed  by  Maupeou,  the  Royal 
Chancellor,  and  Lomenie,  deciding  to  form  a  provincial 
assembly  in  its  stead,  caused  edicts  to  that  effect  to 
be  registered  at  Nancy.  The  Lorrainers,  attached 
to  their  ancient  methods  and  customs,  however 
out  of  date  they  might  be,  protested  against  the 
innovation,  denounced  the  Minister  as  a  partisan  of 
despotism,  and  demanded  the  restoration  of  the 
old  parlement.  The  authorities  eventually  had  to 
give  way  in  this  matter,  and  the  councillors  were 
reinstated.  They  then  imagined  themselves  secure 
in  their  seats,  but  at  that  very  moment  the 
Revolution,  by  which  all  antiquated  forms  of 
jurisdiction  were  swept  away,  was  on  the  point  of 
exploding. 

When  the  States  General  were  convoked  in  1789 
Lorraine  was  allotted  thirty-six  members — nine  of 
the  clergy,  nine  of  the  nobility,  and  eighteen  of  the 
third  estate.  The  nobles,  over  whom  presided  the 
amorous  poet-soldier,  the  Chevalier  de  Boufflers,  made 
very  liberal  proposals  to  the  third  estate,  who  were 
largely  intent  on  securing  one  or  another  privilege 
for  their  respective  towns.  The  hard-pressed  peasantry 
did  not  rise,  and  although  it  was  at  Varennes  in  the 
Argonne,  on  the  confines  of  Lorraine,  that  Louis  XVI 
and  his  family  were  stopped  when  attempting  to  flee 
the  country,  large  numbers  of  people  of  rank  and 
position  opposed  to  the  Revolution  were  able  to 
cross  the  province  without  let  or  hindrance  and  make 
their  way  into  Germany.  In  August  1790  a  san- 
guinary affray  occurred  at  Nancy.  The  ill-paid 
soldiers  of  the  garrison  mutinied  and  seized  the  regi- 
mental chests,  whereupon  the  Marquis  de  Bouille, 
who  commanded  the  forces  at  Metz,  received  orders 
to  put  down  the  rebellion.  His  troops  almost  anni- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  189 

hilated  the  Swiss  Chateauvieux  regiment,  with  which 
the  poorer  folk  of  Nancy  sided  the  more  willingly 
as,  at  the  taking  of  the  Bastille  in  the  previous  year, 
these  same  Switzers  had  refused  to  fire  on  the  Parisians. 
According  to  the  generally  received  account  no  fewer 
than  3000  people  were  killed  in  the  contest  at  Nancy, 
and  Bouille  left  on  the  glorious  name  he  had  inherited 
a  stain  which  was  only  effaced  by  the  heroism  of  his 
descendants,  several  of  whom  gave  their  lives  for 
France  in  the  dark,  desperate  days  of  1870.  Of  the 
few  mutineer-soldiers  who  were  not  struck  down  in 
the  fighting,  Bouille  caused  one  to  be  broken  on  the 
wheel,  although  all  forms  of  torture  were  abolished  by 
law.  Twenty-one  he  hanged,  and  forty-one  he  sent  to 
the  galleys,  from  which,  however,  the  Revolution  as  it 
progressed  delivered  them. 

Lorraine  rose  when  the  Prussians  and  Austrians 
invaded  France.  Her  people  were  essentially  warlike 
and  all  classes  contributed  to  the  armies  of  the 
Republic.  When  Epinal  was  asked  for  a  hundred 
volunteers  more  than  double  that  number  came 
forward  in  one  day.  On  the  department  of  the 
Vosges,  after  contributing  five  battalions  of  soldiers, 
being  asked  to  raise  another  2600  men,  it  supplied 
6400  within  a  week.  Appeals  were  also  made  for 
money,  and  the  district  of  Neufchateau  at  once 
furnished  200,000  limes >  though  it  was  already  paying 
120,000  in  taxation.  Twice  did  the  National  Conven- 
tion decree  that  the  department  of  the  Vosges  had 
"  deserved  well  of  the  country."  In  March  1793, 
after  providing  fifteen  battalions  of  troops,  it  con- 
tributed yet  another  one  to  the  national  defence. 
There  were  similar  efforts  in  all  parts  of  Lorraine. 
Church  bells  were  taken  down  and  sent  to  the  foundries 
to  be  cast  into  cannon.  Although  many  townships 


190  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

were  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  corn,  flour,  and  oats 
were  poured  into  the  strongholds  of  Metz,  Strasburg, 
Sarrelouis,  and  Landau  to  provide  for  their  garrisons. 
Cereals  were  even  dispatched  to  other  parts  of  France 
wrhere  the  distress  was  particularly  great.  Many  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  Lorrainer  and  Alsatian  regiments 
became  distinguished  men.  It  was  said  of  Phalsbourg 
that  it  not  only  gave  France  a  marshal — Lobau — 
but  that  one  out  of  every  six  of  its  inhabitants  became 
a  general,  and  that  each  of  its  houses  supplied  either 
a  colonel  or  two  battalion  commanders.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  eastern  provinces  was  animated  with  feel- 
ings of  detestation  for  the  invaders  from  across  the 
Rhine.  Neither  Lorrainer  nor  Alsatian  had  been 
well  treated  by  the  old  French  regime,  but  in  the 
great  hurly-burly  of  the  Revolution  they  showed 
how  French  their  sentiments  had  become.  Their 
blood  was  mingled  freely  with  that  of  the  other 
defenders  of  the  country,  as  though  from  the 
very  dawn  of  history  they  had  always  been  her 
sons. 

The  most  conspicuous  representative  of  Lorraine 
in  the  National  Convention  was  that  democratic 
Gallican,  the  Abbe  Gregoire,  a  native  of  Veho  in  the 
Meurthe,  and  parish  priest  of  Embermenil.  He  acted 
for  a  time  as  Constitutional  Bishop  of  Blois,  and 
under  the  Consulate  became  a  member  of  the  Senate. 
He  and  Carnot,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Tribunat, 
were  the  only  two  representatives  who  protested 
against  Napoleon's  assumption  of  the  Imperial  dignity. 
There  were  few  revolutionary  excesses  in  Lorraine. 
Even  when  hatred  of  Austria,  whose  Emperor  was 
descended  from  the  old  ducal  house,  prompted  the 
Revolutionists  of  Nancy  to  remove  the  coffins  of 
some  of  his  ancestors  from  the  Church  of  the  Cor- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  191 

deliers,  the  remains  were  not  burnt  or  east  to  the 
winds  according  to  the  general  practice  of  those  times, 
but  were  simply  consigned  to  one  of  the  public  ceme- 
teries. As  for  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal,  which 
sat  at  Mirecourt,  it  was  probably  the  most  humane 
and  lenient  in  all  France.  According  to  one  of  the 
province's  historians  it  sent  in  all  only  nine  persons 
to  the  guillotine. 

The  patriotic  fervour  continued  unabated  under 
Napoleon,  wTho,  as  historians  have  recorded,  derived 
some  of  his  most  eminent  captains  as  well  as  his  best 
regiments  from  Alsace-Lorraine.  Metz  resisted  the 
Allies  victoriously  both  in  1814  and  1815.  Francs- 
tireurs  roamed  the  woodlands  and  the  hill- sides,  ever 
on  the  alert  to  pounce  upon  small  parties  of  the 
invaders.  The  Emperor's  first  fall  brought  depression, 
but  elation  supervened  when  he  returned  from  Elba. 
The  Hundred  Days  ended,  however,  with  the  crash 
of  Waterloo,  and  Prussia  then  greedily  tried  to  lay 
her  hands  on  at  least  a  part  of  Lorraine  as  well  as 
the  whole  of  Alsace.  Seventy-two  communes  cover- 
ing over  153,000  acres  of  territory  and  counting 
40,000  inhabitants  were  wrested  from  France  by  the 
treaty  of  November  20,  1815,  the  greater  part  going 
to  Rhenish  Prussia  and  the  rest  to  the  Bavarian 
Palatinate.  I  have  already  mentioned,  I  think,  that 
among  the  towns  secured  by  Prussia  was  Sarrelouis, 
the  birthplace  of  Marshal  Ney.  Dupin  aine,  who 
defended  Ney  when  he  was  tried  for  high  treason 
to  Louis  XVIII,  wished  to  argue  that  Sarrelouis  and 
its  people  having  been  transferred  to  a  foreign  Power, 
the  Marshal  was  not  amenable  to  a  French  court 
on  the  specific  charge  brought  against  him,  as  he 
owned  no  allegiance  to  the  French  Crown.  Ney, 
however,  interrupted  his  counsel  violently :  "  No, 


192  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

no  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  accept  none  of  that.     I  am 
a  Frenchman,  and  I  will  die  one  !  "  * 

A  most  reactionary  policy  followed  the   second 
Restoration    of   the    Bourbons.     Clericalism    became 
rampant    in    the    Legislature,    and    Lorraine,    once 
favourably  known  to  the  clergy  for  its  Catholic  senti- 
ments, was  at  an  early  date  the  scene  of  an  attempted 
"  Revival,"    originated    by    the    Bishop    of   Nancy, 
Charles   Auguste  de    Forbin-Janson,  who    ended   by 
organizing  missions  which  travelled  hither  and  thither 
through  France,  endeavouring  to  promote  a  return 
to    religious    observances.     Against    that,    in    itself, 
there  is  nothing  to  be  said,  but  the  Church,  in  its 
zeal  for  its  own  interests  and  those  of  the  restored 
monarchy,   endeavoured  to  capture  all  political  in- 
fluence, invariably  weighing  upon  the  electorate  in 
favour  of  its  own  candidates  and  opposing  the  appoint- 
ment even  to  trifling  offices   of  any  who   did  not 
subscribe   to   its   authority.     This   degenerated   into 
a  more  or  less  direct  persecution  of  all  who  were 
inclined  to  liberal  ideas  in  politics  or  to  freedom  of 
thought  in   religious   matters.     At   one  moment  all 
the  deputies  for  Lorraine  and  virtually  all  the  function- 
aries of  its  four  departments  belonged  to  the  Clericalist 
party. 

Aided  so  powerfully  by  the  clergy  throughout 
France,  the  Bourbon  Government  doubtless  imagined 
itself  to  be  secure.  But  a  change  gradually  set  in, 
and  various  liberal  and  democratic  candidates  were 
returned  by  the  electors  of  Lorraine  in  1827.  The 
Liberal  Lorrainers  in  the  last  legislature  of  the  Restora- 
tion included  some  distinguished  soldiers — for  instance, 

*  Dupin's  argument  was  highly  fallacious,  Ney's  offence  having  been 
committed  whilst  Sarrelouia  was  French  territory  and  under  the  rule  of 
Louis 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  193 

Marshal  Count  Lobau,  a  native  of  Phalsbourg,  and 
Colonel  Jacqueminot,  whose  name  has  been  per- 
petuated by  a  famous  rose.  Another  eminent  Lor- 
rainer  inclined  to  Liberalism  was  Baron  Louis,  born 
at  Toul,  and  an  expert  in  finance.  At  the  head  of 
the  democratic  party  were  MM.  Marchal  and  Thou- 
venel,  the  latter  of  whom  afterwards  went  over  to 
Napoleon  III,  and  became  for  a  time  his  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs — being  indeed  the  best  man  who 
held  that  post  under  the  Second  Empire. 

The  Revolution  of  1830  which  set  Louis  Philippe 
on  the  throne  was  attended  by  trouble  on  the  Prussian 
frontier.  The  inhabitants  of  those  districts  of  the 
department  of  the  Moselle  which  had  been  wrested 
from  France  in  1815  and  consigned  to  Prussian 
domination,  began  to  agitate  for  their  return  to 
France.  Now  that  a  more  liberal  regime  seemed  to 
be  impending  in  that  country  they  wished  to  escape 
from  the  Prussian  thraldom  which  they  had  endured 
for  fifteen  years.  The  movement  was  particularly 
pronounced  at  Sarrelouis,  Saint- Wendel,  and  Hem- 
bach.  But  the  Prussian  authorities  promptly  inter- 
vened, and  many  people  were  arrested  and  sent  to 
prison  for  indefinite  periods,  without  being  allowed 
any  form  of  trial.  Louis  Philippe's  Government  soon 
found  itself  beset  with  difficulties  at  home,  and  was 
never  at  any  time  strong  enough  to  attempt  the 
recovery  of  the  territory  lost  by  the  treaty  which 
followed  Napoleon's  downfall.  It  is  as  well  to  mention 
that  the  agitation  to  which  I  have  referred  appears 
to  have  been  confined  at  this  time  almost  exclusively 
to  the  districts  annexed  to  Rhenish  Prussia.  There 
was  not  the  same  degree  of  bitter  discontent  among 
the  folk  whose  lands  had  been  transferred  to  the 
Bavarian  Palatinate.  French  historians  of  Lorraine 

N 


194  THE   TRUE   STORY    OF 

admit  that  the  Bavarian  rule  was  far  less  harsh  than 
the  Prussian  rule,  and  that,  under  the  former,  the 
educational  system  was  a  liberal  one. 

Like  other  parts  of  France,  Lorraine  became  the 
scene  of  a  strenuous  democratic  struggle  which  con- 
tinued throughout  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  The 
province's  foremost  parliamentary  champion  at  this 
period  was  Henri  Boulay  de  la  Meurthe,  a  native  of 
Nancy,  who,  after  Louis  Philippe's  fall,  became  Vice- 
President  of  the  Republic.  He  was  the  son  of  Antoine 
Boulay — born  at  Chamousey  in  the  Vosges — who,  in 
conjunction  with  Portalis,  framed  a  large  part  of 
that  division  of  the  so-called  Code  Napoleon  which 
is  known  as  the  Code  civil.  In  addition  to  the  demo- 
cratic agitation  there  were  a  few  plots  in  Lorraine 
during  Louis  Philippe's  reign.  One  was  started  at 
Luneville  by  some  dragoon  officers  and  "  non-coms.," 
with  the  object  of  restoring  the  Empire,  but  no  legal 
proofs  against  those  who  were  implicated  in  this 
affair  could  be  produced.  At  last  came  the  wide- 
spread demand  for  parliamentary  Reform,  with  all 
its  banqueting  and  oratory,  which  in  1848  culminated 
in  the  dethronement  of  the  House  of  Orleans.  Amidst 
all  the  dramatic  events  of  that  year  of  vain  efforts 
to  gain  liberty  —  when  even  the  Germans  tried  to 
free  themselves — the  people  of  the  Sarre  valley, 
separated  from  France  since  1815,  once  more  sought 
reunion,  and  this  time  those  who  were  Bavarian  as 
well  as  those  who  were  Prussian  subjects  desired  to 
become  citizens  of  the  new-born  French  Republic. 
With  that  object  a  great  demonstration  took  place 
at  Saarbriicken  (November  1848),  when  French, 
Prussian,  and  Bavarian  Republicans  fraternized. 
But  the  revolutionary  movements  in  Germany  were 
put  down.  The  Bavarian  and  Prussian  authorities 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  195 

asserted  their  power,  and  the  folk  of  the  Sarre  valley 
had  to  remain  as  they  were. 

At  the  election  for  the  presidency  of  the  French 
Republic  the  clergy  of  Lorraine  vigorously  supported 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon  against  General  Cavaignac. 
Nevertheless  the  proportion  of  the  votes  which  the 
last  named  secured  was  higher  than  in  most  other 
parts  of  France.  The  number  of  electors  who  voted 
for  him  in  the  four  departments  of  the  Meurthe,  the 
Meuse,  the  Moselle,  and  the  Vosges  was  67,065. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  no  fewer  than  287,525  votes 
were  polled  by  the  man  whose  policy  in  later  years 
led  to  the  loss  of  Metz  and  other  parts  of  North- 
Eastern  Lorraine.  As  I  remarked  when  writing  of 
Alsace,  the  name  of  Napoleon  was  still  one  to  conjure 
with  in  1848.  After  the  coup  d?6tat  ninety-two 
Lorrainer  Republicans  suffered  proscription  in  one 
or  another  form,  and  fifty-seven  of  these  belonged 
to  the  department  of  the  Meurthe,  in  which  Nancy, 
LuneVille,  Toul,  and  Briey  were  situated.  From  this 
one  may  infer  that  the  Meurthe  was  the  region  in 
which  Republicanism  was  most  numerously  repre- 
sented. In  the  Vosges  twenty-one  persons  were 
proscribed.  In  the  Moselle  (capital,  Metz)  the  number 
fell  to  twelve,  and  in  the  Meuse  to  three.*  Later, 
in  1858,  after  the  life  of  Napoleon  III  had  been 
attempted  by  Felix  Orsini,  and  by  virtue  of  a  tyran- 
nical Law  of  Public  Safety  imposed  upon  the  French 
Legislature,  and  against  which  Marshal  MacMahon, 

*  In"  the  Meurthe  two  persons  were  deported  to  Cayenne  and  fifteen  to 
Algeria ;  whilst  thirteen  were  banished,  nineteen  interned,  and  eight  placed 
under  police  surveillance,  with  fixed  residences  from  which  they  might  not 
remove.  In  the  Vosges  three  were  sent  to  Cayenne  and  seven  to  Algeria, 
eight  were  banished,  and  three  interned.  In  the  Moselle  seven  were  exiled, 
one  was  interned,  and  four  were  placed  under  surveillance.  The  three  Meuse 
cases  were  deportations  to  Algeria,  that  is,  to  Lambessa,  a  penal  station  of 
infamous  memory. 


196  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

in  the  Senate,  alone  had  the  moral  courage  to  protest, 
a    number    of    leading    Lorrainers    were    arbitrarily 
arrested   and   consigned  to  the   Algerian   inferno  of 
Lambessa.     Not  one  of  them,  in  fact  no  Frenchman 
in  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  Empire,  had 
in  any  way  participated  in  Orsini's  attempt.     Their 
sole  offence  was  %hat  they  had  expressed  their  detesta- 
tion   of   the    tyranny    of   the    Imperial    rule.     That 
tyranny  had  abated  when  in  1866  Lorraine  celebrated 
the  centenary  of  its  union  with  France.     The  material 
prosperity  which  the  Empire  undoubtedly  brought 
with  it,  as  I  showed  when  writing  of  Alsace,  was  then 
in  its  zenith,  and  people  readily  gave  themselves  up 
to  festivity.     There  was  at  the  moment  no  appre- 
hension of  war.     The  sudden  brief  struggle  between 
Prussia  and  Austria  did  not  occur  until  some  months 
later.     Bismarck  and  his  master  had  not  yet  begun 
to  cut  up  Germany,  or  shown  that  their  ravenous 
appetites  would  not  be  sufficiently  glutted  unless,  in 
addition  to  Hanover,  Brunswick,  Nassau,  and  divers 
smaller  States,  they  were  also  able  to  secure  a  succu- 
lent  slice   of  France.     Besides,    whatever  might   be 
thought  of  Napoleon  III,  there  was  every  confidence 
in  the  French  army,  which  was  supposed  to  be  of 
full  strength,  most  powerfully  organized,  and  admir- 
ably equipped.     Every  year,  just  beyond  the  western 
confines  of  Lorraine,  and  on  the  very  plain  which 
had  witnessed  the  defeat  of  Attila  and  his  Huns, 
there   was   displayed   the   superb   pageantry   of  the 
Camp  of  Chalons,  that  great  gathering  of  Grenadiers, 
Voltigeurs,    Zouaves,   Turcos,    Cuirassiers,   Dragoons, 
Lancers,   and  other  soldiery,   all  spick  ""and  span  in 
vivid    uniforms,    and    drilled    to    perfection.     Sham 
fights  were  lost  and  won,  camp-fires  blazed,  salutes 
thundered,  drums  rolled,  trumpets  blared,   and  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  19T 

winds  from  the  west  carried  the  martial  sounds  across 
the  plateau  of  Lorraine,  instilling  complete  confidence 
in  all  who  heard  them.  Who  indeed  could  then  have 
foreseen  a  Worth,  a  Gravelotte,  a  Sedan,  a  Metz  ? 
Lorraine,  the  land  of  Joan  of  Arc,  deemed  herself 
well  guarded  from  invasion.  None  of  her  sons  or 
her  daughters  imagined  that  in  a  few  brief  years  a 
day  would  dawn  when  the  foe  would  be  upon  them, 
and  that  they  would  call  in  vain  upon  the  Maid  of 
Domremy  to  free  them  as  she  had  once  freed  France. 


VII 
ALSATIANS  AND  LORRAINERS 

Physical  Characteristics  of  the  Alsatians  :  Their  former  picturesque 
Costumes  :  The  Lorrainer  Race  :  The  Language  Question  and  the 
German  Claims  to  the  Provinces  :  A  Specimen  of  Lorraine  Dialect : 
Early  German  Annexationist  Propaganda  :  Linguistic  Limits  and 
Place- Names  :  More  Specimens  of  Dialects  :  Variations  of  Speech 
in  Alsace  :  Famous  and  Eminent  Men  given  by  the  Provinces  to 
France  :  Soldiers,  Statesmen,  Scientists,  Authors,  Artists,  and 
others  :  The  Chivalry  of  Lorraine  :  The  Storks  of  Alsace. 

IT  has  been  indicated  already  that  a  great  diversity 
of  physical  characteristics  will  be  found  among  the 
Alsatians.  They  differ  from  one  another  according  to 
the  part  of  the  country  which  they  inhabit — the 
Rhine  bank,  the  plain,  the  lower  slopes,  and  the 
mountains.  The  folk  of  the  plain,  who  are  the  most 
numerous,  are  vigorous,  of  average  height,  and  well 
proportioned,  with  strong  bones,  pronounced  features, 
and  fresh,  often  quite  ruddy,  complexions.  Some  of 
them  have  fair  hair,  others  hair  of  varying  shades  of 
brown,  others  hair  of  an  almost  flaring  red,  but  black 
hair  is  very  seldom  found  among  them.  Both  blue 
and  brown  eyes  are  seen.  The  women  are  generally 
well  developed  and  make  first-rate  nurses.  They 
have  remarkably  good  teeth.  In  the  southern  part 
of  the  plain  the  men  are  taller  than  elsewhere,  quick 
in  their  movements,  with  sanguine  temperaments 
and  a  bearing  suggestive  of  innate  pride.  In  the 
centre  of  the  plain  darker  hair  than  in  the  south  is 
observed,  and  the  people  are  more  phlegmatic.  In 
the  north,  where  hair  of  extreme  fairness  predominates, 

198 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  199 

the  inhabitants  are  generally  inclined  to  a  more 
slender  build,  and  display  great  suppleness  of  motion. 
The  girls  with  their  fresh  complexions  are  often 
charming,  but  hard  work  ages  them  rapidly.  To- 
wards the  Rhine  a  pale  and  lymphatic  type  is  found, 
and  cases  of  goitre  may  often  be  observed. 

The  folk  seen  on  the  lower  spurs  of  the  Vosges 
are  fairly  robust,  but  inclined  to  be  pale  and  lean.  It 
is  hereabouts  that  red  hair  is  most  often  noticed, 
though  light  brown  is  the  prevailing  colour.  A  cer- 
tain sickliness  used  to  be  found  in  the  narrow  valleys, 
where  the  dwelling-places  were  often  unhealthy  and 
the  food  poor — the  people  subsisting  on  bread  com- 
pounded of  rye,  barley,  and  buckwheat,  potatoes,  a 
little  salt  bacon,  and  curdled  milk.  As  for  the  folk  of 
the  Vosges  highlands,  they  differ  from  other  Alsatians, 
and  approximate  more  to  the  Lorraine  and  Franche- 
Comte*  types.  The  men  are  tall  and  very  strong,  the 
women  also  tall  and  fresh-coloured.  They  dwell  (I 
refer,  of  course,  to  pre-war  days)  on  isolated  farms 
among  what  are  called  the  hautes  chaumes  (high 
stubbles),  and  cattle-raising  and  cheese-making  are 
their  principal  avocations.  The  farms  are  known  as 
marcairies  *  and  the  people  as  marcaires. 

The  differences  in  the  physique  of  the  Alsatians 
arise  from  a  variety  of  causes,  such  as  local  habitat, 
occupation,  and  the  preponderance  of  one  or  another 
racial  element,  the  country,  as  was  explained  in  my 
previous  chapters,  having  been  overrun  by  many 
ancient  tribes  and  later  by  the  soldiery  of  numerous 
contending  nations.  A  long  ancestry  stretching 
through  centuries  of  warfare  has  made  the  Alsatian, 
generally,  a  very  courageous  man.  In  old  days 
voluntary  enlistments  were  very  numerous.  The 

*  The  forms  marcairerie  and  marquairerie  are  also  sometimes  used. 


200  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

average  Alsatian  has  always  proved  an  efficient  non- 
commissioned officer.  His  great  predilection  for  the 
cavalry  service  is  combined  with  genuine  solicitude 
for  his  mount.  In  civil  life  he  is  a  good  and  orderly 
worker,  clean  and  methodical  in  his  habits.  There  is 
some  variation  in  his  disposition  according  to  his 
religion,  the  Catholic  being  perhaps  more  inclined  to 
gaiety  than  the  Protestant.  Rectitude  is  one  of  the 
Alsatian's  strong  points,  and  he  is  almost  invariably 
hospitable  to  strangers  and  charitable  to  those  of  his 
neighbours  who  may  meet  with  misfortune.  The 
gaiety  to  which  I  have  referred  seeks  satisfaction  in 
somewhat  noisy  pleasures.  The  Alsatian  sings  his 
loudest,  perhaps  in  order  to  show  the  power  of  his 
lungs.  Both  lads  and  girls  are  born  dancers,  and 
trip  it  freely,  as  do  also  the  older  folk,  on  festive 
occasions. 

One  of  the  intendants  of  Alsace  under  the  old 
regime  endeavoured  to  compel  the  inhabitants  to 
abandon  their  picturesque  costumes,  derived  in  part 
from  Switzerland  and  in  part  from  Southern  Germany. 
This  attempt  failed,  and  during  the  Revolution 
Saint- Just  and  Lebas,  whilst  acting  as  Commissaries 
of  the  Republic  at  Strasburg,  made  a  similar  effort, 
saying  to  the  women  of  the  Alsatian  capital  that  as 
their  hearts  were  French  they  ought  to  follow  the 
fashions  of  France.  The  old  costumes  were  still 
favoured,  however,  in  the  rural  districts  down  to  our 
own  times.  In  winter  men  would  be  seen  wearing 
round  fur  caps,  in  summer  broad  felt  hats,  the  brims 
of  which  were  raised  at  the  sides  but  lowered  in  front 
so  as  to  shade  the  eyes  from  the  sun.  On  work-days 
Alsatian  villagers  would  go  about  in  short  jackets 
somewhat  like  those  of  Eton  boys,  but  on  high  days 
and  holidays  they  donned  long,  black,  high-collared 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  201 

frock-coats,  under  which  were  seen  red  waistcoats 
decorated  with  an  abundance  of  silver  buttons.  The 
men  did  not  take  kindly  to  trousers,  but  preferred 
breeches,  with  stockings,  or  gaiters,  or  boots  of  soft 
leather  reaching  to  the  knees.  The  women,  parti- 
cularly the  younger  ones,  often  looked  as  if  they  had 
just  stepped  from  a  stage  where  some  operetta  had 
been  performed.  Their  serge  skirts,  usually  green  in 
colour,  were  embellished  in  the  lower  part  with  broad 
bands  of  scarlet  or  crimson.  Under  their  black, 
sleeveless  bodices,  embroidered  in  front  with  bright 
silk,  and  further  adorned  with  ribbons,  you  saw 
chemisettes,  whose  ample  sleeves  of  the  bouffant  pattern, 
were  daintily  pleated.  If  the  weather  necessitated  a 
little  protection,  fichus  or  small  shawls  were  cast  over 
their  shoulders.  On  gala  days  coloured  stockings  and 
buckled  shoes  were  worn  ;  whilst  the  almost  invariable 
headgear  surmounting  the  braided  tresses  was  a  tiny 
cap  with  a  huge  black  "butterfly"  bow,  or,  as  the 
French  put  it,  a  bow  aux  ailes  de  pigeon.  In  the 
Vosgian  district  of  Orbey  (Urbeis),  where  the  country 
girls  were  often  of  a  slender  and  refined  type,  with 
supple  figures  and  a  graceful  carriage,  they  wore 
light-coloured  cornettes  bordered  with  black  velvet 
and  decked  with  ribbons  ;  and  bright  pink  fichus  were 
often  crossed  over  their  dark  bodices. 

In  more  recent  times  the  men  of  Alsace  have 
dressed  like  other  citizens,  artisans  or  peasants  of  the 
nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries.  The  women  also 
have  generally  cast  aside  the  national  costumes. 
Only  quite  young  girls  still  wear  the  large  black 
butterfly  bows,  which  were  once  as  characteristic  of 
the  Alsacienne  as  the  mantilla  was  of  the  Sevillana. 
Paris  fashions  have  much  to  answer  for  at  the  bar  of 
the  Picturesque.  They  have  relegated  such  garb  as  I 


202  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

have  been  describing  to  the  regions  of  "  auld  lang 
syne  "  : 

Add,  add,  add,  those  times  have  passed  away, 

Yet  the  blue  Alsatian  mountains  t>  ey  watch  and  wait  alway. 

I  previously  indicated  that  minute  investigations 
in  all  parts  of  Lorraine  have  shown  its  people  possess- 
ing, both  in  the  past  and  in  the  present,  skulls  of  the 
brachycephalic  type  rounded  at  the  summit — a  usual 
characteristic  of  the  French  Gaelic  race.  In  the  many 
tumuli  and  ancient  ossuaries  that  had  been  searched 
in  one  or  another  part  of  the  province  down  to  the 
year  1862,  nearly  every  skull  that  was  examined  was 
of  the  aforementioned  type.*  In  1886  Dr.  Collignon 
wrote  in  his  "  Anthropologie  de  la  Lorraine " : 
"  Whether  you  content  yourself  with  looking  at  the 
country-folk  as  you  pass  them,  or  whether,  turning  to 
the  dead,  you  search  the  ossuaries  and  the  most 
ancient  burial-places  of  the  whole  country,  the  result 
remains  the  same,  be  the  districts  those  which  are 
reputed  Germanic  or  those  which  are  known  to  be 
French.  The  great  majority  of  the  skulls,  and  in 
some  places  all  of  them,  are  brachycephalic."  There 
is  considerable  resemblance  to  the  Auvergnat  type ; 
and  it  is  held  that  although  the  Lorrainer  is  not  a  pure 
Celt  he  has  great  affinity  with  that  race.  Two 
eminent  scientists,  Broca  and  Topinard,  classed  him, 
by  reason  of  his  stature  and  other  characteristics, 
among  the  tall,  fair,  but  long-headed  Kymri.  Various 
discoveries  support  the  view  that  at  the  time  of  the 
Germanic  irruptions  many  of  the  original  Celts  took 
refuge  in  the  mountainous  districts,  leaving  the 
invaders  in  the  valleys,  where  they  appear  to  have 
mingled  with  the  older  races.  According  to  a  map 

*  "  Etude  ethnologique  BUT  1'Origine  des  Populations  Lorraines — Memoires 
de  1'Academie  de  Stanislas."     1862. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  203 

given  by  Dr.  Collignon  there  was  a  mixed  zone  cover- 
ing the  whole  basin  of  the  Moselle,  but  surrounded  by 
a  Celtic  zone  which  included  the  Thionville,  Sarregue- 
mines,  and  Vosgian  districts.  In  a  sense,  then,  there 
existed  two  Lorraines,  whose  borders  often  varied 
according  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  times,  and  whose 
people  were  distinguished  from  one  another  by  their 
speech.  The  various  irruptions  and  conflicts  which 
occurred  resulted  from  the  country's  situation.  Geo- 
graphically it  is  part  of  the  basin  of  Paris,  but  it 
is  also  linked  to  the  Rhenish  system,  and  ethno- 
logically,  historically,  and  socially  has  always  borne 
the  impress  of  its  twofold  geographical  position. 

Language  is  by  no  means  an  indisputable  proof  of 
race.  In  this  country  of  ours  there  are  many  folk 
who  speak  only  the  English  language,  yet  are  English 
only  in  a  legal  and  not  in  a  racial  sense.  Every  child 
that  is  born  in  Britain  is  accounted  a  British  subject, 
although  not  even  a  drachm  of  the  blood  of  any  of 
the  British  races  may  flow  in  its  veins.  Take  one 
instance  out  of  many.  Large  numbers  of  Italians  of 
both  sexes  come  to  this  country.  They  marry  here, 
or  are  married  before  their  arrival,  and  children  are 
born  to  them  here.  These  children  go  to  English 
schools,  where  they  acquire  our  language,  and  I  know 
of  numerous  instances  in  which  they  are  conversant 
with  only  a  few  words  of  the  parental  tongue.  Never- 
theless, in  spite  of  their  English  speech  they  are  not 
English  racially.  Again,  conquerors  have  at  times 
imposed  their  language  on  the  conquered.  In  these 
later  years  the  Prussians  have  particularly  striven  to 
do  so.  They  have  all  but  stamped  out  the  ancient 
Wendish  speech,  and  they  have  exerted  themselves  to 
impose  German  on  their  Polish  subjects  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  latter' s  national  language.  Although,  as 


204  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

scientists  show,  there  has  been  a  Germanic  element  in 
Lorraine,  or  rather  in  its  north-eastern  part,  for  many 
centuries,  and  the  people  in  that  particular  region 
have  taken  to  the  German  speech,  it  by  no  means 
follows  that  the  bulk  of  them  are  of  the  German  race. 
It  was  pointed  out  at  the  time  of  the  annexation  of 
North-Eastern  Lorraine  in  1871  that  no  German  was 
then  spoken  at  Metz,  Thionville,  Boulay,  Saint- Avoid, 
Chateau-Salins,  or  Dieuze,  where  French  had  always 
prevailed  from  at  least  the  sixteenth  century. 

By  French  I  do  not  mean  pure  French  of  the 
literary  description.  The  provinces  of  old  France  had 
their  particular,  vaiying  idioms.  That  of  the  Picards 
was  probably  the  one  which  most  contributed  to  the 
French  language  as  we  know  it  to-day.  With  regard 
to  the  Lorraine  dialects  one  finds  that  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  were  formed 
mostly  of  old  French  mingled  with  corrupt  Celtic  and 
Latin  words.  Going  back  to  distant  times  it  may  be 
pointed  out  that  when  the  kingdom  of  Lotharingia 
was  formed,  Lothair  took  the  famous  "Oath  of 
Strasburg "  in  words  compounded  of  very  ancient 
French  and  lower  Latin,  whereas  his  uncle  Louis 
the  Germanic  repeated  the  same  formula  in  early 
German. 

In  a  book  of  mine  entitled  "  In  Seven  Lands,"  I 
supplied  a  specimen  of  Lorraine  dialect  as  it  was 
some  fifty  years  ago,  and  I  will  quote  it  here : 

Quand  j'  dansions  chus  1'orme 
J'eun  motins  point  d'  c6  grands  chepe 
Qu'etaient  si  bin  enjolivet, 
Que  develint  pus  bas  qu'eul  net. 

J'eun  motins  ni  bouff'  ni  bouffants 
Et  ni  eeintur'  de  b6  rubans. 
Nos  cotillons  et  nos  corsets 
Sont  co  pus  b6  que  ces  affiquets. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  205 

The  German  claims  to  North-Eastern  Lorraine  and 
the  whole  of  Alsace  were  based  largely  on  linguistic 
considerations.  These  claims  were  brought  forward 
as  early  as  1856  by  a  Hanoverian  professor  named 
Nabert,  who  wrote  a  pamphlet  on  the  "  mission  "  of 
the  German  nation  to  subject  to  their  laws  and 
institutions  the  whole  of  those  "  territories  of  the 
Scheldt  and  the  Rhine  where  their  language  was 
spoken."  It  will  be  noted  that  the  professor  cast  his 
net  widely,  including  in  it  not  only  Alsace-Lorraine, 
but  also  the  Netherlands — whose  people,  the  Dutch 
and  the  Flemings,  he  regarded  as  Germans  by  reason 
of  their  speech.  Only  by  annexing  those  lands,  said 
Nabert,  could  Germany  deliver  herself  from  constant 
warfare  with  her  western  neighbours. 

Kiepert,  the  geographer,  afterwards  addressed  him- 
self to  this  subject,  but  with  reference  more  par- 
ticularly to  Alsace-Lorraine,  which  he  visited  before 
producing  in  1867  the  first  edition  of  a  map  on  which 
he  indicated  what  districts  Germany  ought  to  claim. 
This  map  *  was  again  reissued  in  1871,  1875,  and 
1888  by  way  of  "  fortifying  "  the  German  right  to  the 
annexed  provinces  ;  and  in  conjunction  with  the  Pan- 
German  Richard  Boeck,  Kiepert  also  produced,  during 
the  war  of  1870,  a  so-called  "  Historische  Karte  von 
Elsass-Lothringen."  In  the  previous  year  Boeck, 
who  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  partisans  of  the 
annexation  of  all  so-called  "  lost  lands "  wherever 
they  might  be,  had  published  at  Berlin  a  work 
entitled  "  Der  Deutschen  Volkzahl  und  Sprachgebiet 
in  den  Europseischen  Staaten."  In  the  middle  of  the 
war,  moreover,  a  certain  Petermann  issued  a  book  on 
Alsace  accompanied  by  exaggerated  language  maps. 

*  "  Special-Karte   der  deutsch-franzoeichen   Grenzlander,   mit   Auegabe 
der  Sprachgrenze."    (Berlin :  Resmer.) 


206  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Bismarck  knew  these  maps  and  writings  well.  He  may 
have  inspired  them.  At  all  events  they  were  at  his 
elbow,  and  at  Moltke's  also,  when  in  1871  the  pre- 
liminaries of  peace  with  France  were  negotiated  with 
Thiers  and  Jules  Favre. 

Boeck  accused  the  French  Government  of  all  sorts 
of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanours  in  regard  to  its 
so-called  "  German  "  subjects ;  and  with  respect  to 
the  language  question,  he  found,  as  I  previously  re- 
lated, some  supporters  among  the  Alsatian  clergy, 
notably  Pastor  Baum  and  a  Catholic  priest  of 
Strasburg  bearing  the  French  name  of  Cazeaux.  That 
the  French  Government  was  justified  in  endeavouring 
to  diffuse  among  the  Alsatian  peasantry  a  wider 
knowledge  of  French,  such  as  prevailed  among  the 
better-educated  classes  of  the  towns,  goes  without 
saying ;  but  the  prefects  of  the  Second  Empire  were 
often  overzealous,  and  did  much  harm  by  interfering 
in  matters  which  they  had  better  have  left  alone. 
Thus  a  great  mistake  was  made  when  in  certain  rural 
districts  of  Alsace  a  fine  of  a  sou  was  imposed  on  all 
school-children  who  were  heard  conversing  together  in 
German  dialect.  Whatever  the  sentiments  of  the 
Alsatians  might  be — they  had  again  and  again  proved 
their  patriotic  devotion  to  France — the  old-time 
Germanic  speech  was  dear  to  many  of  them.  It  was 
the  same  as  with  the  Bretons.  None  fought  in 
1870-71  more  bravely  for  France  than  did  the  Celts 
of  the  Armorican  peninsula.  But  they  were  strongly 
attached  to  their  national  speech,  and  many  knew  no 
other.  I  can  remember  instances  in  which  the  word 
of  command  given  in  French  was  immediately  after- 
wards repeated  in  Breton,  for  there  were  many  Breton 
battalions  in  the  Second  Loire  Army  to  which  I  was 
attached. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  207 

At  the  time  of  Louis  XIV  the  knowledge  of 
French  was  certainly  more  restricted  in  Alsace  than  it 
afterwards  became,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  when 
that  monarch  gave  orders  to  draft  all  legal  judgments 
and  public  notifications  in  French  it  was  found 
impossible  to  carry  out  his  instructions,  particularly 
in  several  of  the  rural  districts  where  French  was 
quite  unknown.  Some  years  ago  M.  Charles  Pfister, 
a  native  of  the  annexed  provinces,  and  a  Professor  of 
the  Faculty  of  Letters  at  Nancy,  endeavoured  to  draw 
a  line  of  demarcation  between  the  French-speaking 
and  German-speaking  districts.*  His  labours  tended 
to  show  the  great  complexity  of  the  question.  Al- 
though, here  and  there,  a  linguistic  limit  could  be 
traced  with  comparative  ease  over  a  distance  of 
several  miles,  in  other  parts  one  was  constantly 
confronted  by  little  French  or  German  enclaves  locked, 
as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  a  district  where  the  other 
language  was  spoken.  In  these  later  years  the 
Reichsland  authorities  have  exerted  themselves  more 
and  more  strenuously  to  Germanize  the  whole  of  the 
annexed  territory,  imposing  their  language  on  the 
people  by  methods  which  virtually  absolute  French 
rulers,  such  as  Louis  XIV  and  Napoleon  III,  shrank 
from  adopting.  It  follows  that  some  of  M.  Pfister's 
facts  may  now  be  out  of  date,  nevertheless  his  brochure 
is  instructive,  for  it  shows  what  was  the  position  some 
twenty-seven  years  ago — that  is,  a  score  of  years  after 
the  German  annexation. 

In  Southern  Alsace,  towards  the  Swiss  frontier,  a 
line  of  demarcation  was  supplied  by  a  streamlet 
called  the  Lucelle,  on  one  side  of  which  were  two 

*  "  La  Limits  de  la  Langue  frar^aise  en  Alsace-Lorraine."  (Paris,  18^0.) 
This  pamphlet  of  forty  pages  is  probably  the  beet  refutation  of  certain  Gennem 
claims, 


208  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

villages,  Levoncourt  and  Courtavon  (renamed  Luffen- 
dorf  and  Ottendorf  by  the  Germans),  where  French 
was  spoken  almost  exclusively.  The  same  language 
was  used  at  the  village  of  Lucelle  and  at  that  of 
Oberlarg  in  the  vicinity,  though  in  the  last-named 
locality  the  Alsatian  Germanic  dialect  predominated. 
More  to  the  west,  the  frontier  traced  in  1871  took  no 
account  of  linguistic  considerations.  Although  Thiers 
succeeded  in  saving  the  cantons  of  Giromagny  and 
Delle,  besides  Belfort,  for  France,  he  was  obliged  to 
surrender  a  number  of  exclusively  French  villages  to 
the  Germans.  These  places,  anciently  dependencies 
of  the  lordship  of  Montreux,  had  afterwards  formed 
part  of  the  French  cantons  of  Dannemarie  and  Fon- 
taine. They  included,  first,  in  addition  to  Dannemarie 
itself,  Magny,  Romagny  (Willern),  Latran,  Valdieu 
(Gottestal),  Montreux -Vieux,  Montreux- Jeune,  and 
Chavannes-sur-1'Etang ;  and,  secondly,  Saint-Cosme, 
Belmagny  (Bernetzweiler),  Eteimbes  (Welschenstein- 
bach)  and  Bretten,  in  the  upper  valley  of  the 
Traubach,  a  tributary  of  the  Largue.  No  linguistic 
reason  could  be  assigned  for  the  annexation  of  any 
one  of  those  localities,  nevertheless  Bismarck  insisted 
on  appropriating  them. 

To  the  north  of  Eteimbes  the  heights  separating 
the  valley  of  Saint-Nicolas  from  that  of  Massevaux, 
and  the  basin  of  the  Rhone  from  that  of  the  Rhine, 
constituted  a  linguistic  line  of  separation,  and  became 
in  1871  the  political  frontier.  Going  northward,  the 
Vosgian  crests  supplied  roughly  a  linguistic  as  well  as 
a  political  boundary.  Among  the  people  dwelling  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Doller,  the  Thur,  the  Lauch,  and  the 
Fecht,  the  Alsatian  dialect  has  always  predominated, 
but  in  the  valley  of  the  Weiss,  a  tributary  of  the 
Fecht,  and  not  far  from  Munster,  there  is  a  district 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  209 

where,  before  the  annexation  of  1871,  no  German  was 
currently  spoken,  though  here  and  there  it  might 
be  understood.  Even  German  philologists  formerly 
admitted  that  the  communes  of  Orbey,  Le  Bonhomme, 
and  Freland  (now  Urbach),  dependent  on  La  Poultroie, 
as  well  as  the  little  Baroche  or  Zell  side  valley,  whose 
houses  are  scattered  below  the  castle  of  Hohneck, 
were  entirely  Welsch.  As  I  may  have  to  use  this 
word  Welsch  again,  it  is  as  well,  perhaps,  to  explain 
that  the  Germans  derive  it  from  Gallicus,  and  apply 
it  in  contemptuous  fashion  to  folk  of  the  Gallic  race. 
In  the  little  district  to  which  I  have  been  referring, 
the  people  differ  from  the  more  Germanic  race  located 
in  the  plain.  Pfister  says  that  on  market  days  at 
Kaysersberg  it  was  easy  to  distinguish  the  Welsch 
mountain-folk  from  the  people  dwelling  in  the  lower 
wine-growing  villages. 

With  the  enclave  which  has  just  been  mentioned 
one  may  connect  Aubure  (Altweier)  in  the  district  of 
Ribeauville  (otherwise  Rappoltsweiler).  Aubure  is  a 
composite  locality,  one  part  of  it  being  Catholic  and 
the  other  Protestant.  In  the  former  French  used  to 
be  spoken  exclusively,  whilst  in  the  latter  the  German 
dialect  predominated.  Going  farther  north,  the  valley 
of  Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines  (Markirch)  was  divided 
linguistically  in  similar  fashion.  Half  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town  itself  spoke  French  and  the  other 
half  German.  This  peculiarity  may  have  arisen  from 
the  fact  that  the  left  side  of  the  valley  formerly 
belonged  to  the  duchy  of  Lorraine  and  the  other  side 
to  the  Alsatian  lordship  of  Ribeaupierre  (Rappolt- 
stein) ;  but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  regard  this 
particular  instance  as  a  general  rule.  French  patois 
has  certainly  prevailed  in  some  lonely  hamlets  on  the 
Lorraine  side  of  the  valley,  but  on  following  the 


210  THE   TRUE    STORY    O^F 

Saint-Croix  streamlet  it  will  be  found  that  nearly  all 
the  localities  are  of  the  German-speaking  variety 
until  at  Li£vre  (Leberau),  on  the  same  side,  French 
speech  once  more  prevails. 

The  River  Lievre  drains  the  valley  of  Sainte- 
Marie  and  joins  the  Giessen,  which  flows  into  the  111 
to  the  north  of  Schlestadt.  The  upper  valley  of  the 
Giessen  is  (or  was)  linguistically  French.  Both  lan- 
guages were  spoken  at  Breitenau,  but  French  was  the 
speech  of  Fouday.  In  a  secondary  valley,  north  of 
the  Giessen,  Steige  was  a  Welsch  village  in  spite  of 
its  Germanic  name,  but,  near  at  hand,  Meisengott 
favoured  the  German  dialect. 

In  the  frontier  part  of  Alsace  near  France  the 
most  extensive  French-speaking  district  used  to  be 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Bruch,  which  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Vosges  department.  German  geographers 
claimed,  however,  that  it  was,  by  natural  configura- 
tion, a  part  of  Alsace,  and  Bismarck  adopted  their 
view.  Nevertheless  the  towns  of  Saales  and  Schirmeck 
and  all  the  villages  intervening  between  them  were 
absolutely  Welsch.  Hereabouts,  in  two  secondary 
valleys,  is  the  so-called  Ban  de  la  Roche,*  a  district 
of  about  eight  villages,  four  of  which  belonged  to  the 
Vosges  department.  These  villages  were  exclusively 
French,  there  being  no  Germanic  element  whatever  in 
their  population.  As  a  result  of  the  labours  of  the 
famous  Pastor  Oberlin  these  little  places  have  long 
been  Protestant  communities,  and  are  indeed  the  only 
French  villages  professing  Protestantism  in  this  part 
of  Alsace.  Jer^mie  Jacques  Oberlin,  the  pastor's 
eminent  brother,  one  of  the  first  scholars  to  recognize 
the  importance  of  dialects  in  connexion  with  philology, 
made  a  special  study  of  the  French  patois  of  the  Ban 

*  See  p.  35,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  211 

de  la  Roche.  Natzwiller,  in  much  the  same  district, 
has  retained,  however,  the  Catholic  faith  and  also  the 
Germanic  dialect,  this  arising,  probably,  from  the  fact 
that  the  commune  was  formerly  a  domain  of  the 
Bishops  of  Strasburg.  In  some  hamlets  near  Schir- 
meck — Salm,  Quevelles,  and  Malplaquet — Pfister  noted 
the  presence  of  a  Germanic  Anabaptist  population. 
These  places  were  little  enclaves,  so  to  say,  in  the 
midst  of  a  Gallic  district.  Below  Schirmeck  on  the 
Bruch,  Pfister  found  that  Wisch  was  quite  French 
but  that  Muhlbach  was  entirely  German.  Again, 
Netzenbach  was  French.  At  Lutzelburg  (more  to  the 
north,  in  the  canton  of  Molsheim)  both  languages 
were  spoken.  Haslach  was  German  and  Steinbach 
also ;  but  Russ,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood, 
was  a  French-speaking  locality. 

The  examples  already  given  will  have  shown  how 
impossible  it  would  be  to  divide  Alsace  between 
France  and  Germany — should  any  such  preposterous 
idea  ever  enter  the  head  of  an  insane  politician — in 
accordance  with  strict  linguistic  principles.  The 
baffling  problem  which  has  confronted  generations  of 
statesmen  in  the  Balkan  peninsula  would  be  found  on 
a  smaller  scale  in  Alsace.  In  the  Balkans,  of  course, 
matters  are  complicated  by  the  fact  that  not  only 
differences  of  race  and  language  have  to  be  considered, 
but  long  -  existing  racial  rivalry,  antagonism,  and 
ambition  also.  Formerly  such  elements  of  contention 
scarcely  existed  among  the  Alsatians  proper,  religious 
differences  being  the  only  ones  of  any  importance ; 
but  circumstances  have  changed  under  the  German 
domination  of  the  last  forty-seven  years,  which  has 
planted  thousands  of  people  from  across  the  Rhine 
on  the  lands  taken  from  France.  As  for  the  Alsatians 
themselves,  whether  they  belong  linguistically  or 


212  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

racially  to  the  Germanic  group  or  the  Gallic  group, 
very  few  indeed  have  wavered  in  their  affection  for 
the  land  from  which  they  were  separated  by  force  in 
1871. 

Let  us  now  pass  from  Alsace  to  Lorraine,  proceed- 
ing from  Netzenbach  towards  Mount  Donon  and  then 
entering  the  Lotharingian  district  of  Dabo.     The  little 
River  Zorn  flows  through  the  Vosgian  gorges  in  a 
region  where  only  the  Alsatian  dialect  is  heard.     All 
the  villages  on  the  Bievre  are  linguistically  Germanic 
ones.     But  the  upper  valleys  of  both  the  Red  and  the 
White  Sarre  are  French.     Pfister  found  that  German 
was   not   even   understood    either   at   Aboeschwiller, 
Turquestein  or  Lorquin — the  birthplace  of  the  famous 
explorer  Crevaux.     After  the  two  Sarres  have  met, 
their  waters  flow  in  unison  through  territory  which 
linguistically  is  largely  French.     Pfister  noted  that 
language  at  Nitting,  Hermelange,  Imling,  and  Bebing. 
At  Sarrebourg  both  French  and  German  were  spoken. 
In  the  canton  of  Fenestrange  German  prevailed,  but 
even  here  there  were  two  French-speaking  communes 
— Angviller  and  Bisping.     The  old  Lorrainer  districts 
of  Dieuze,  Delme,  Vic,  and  Chateau-Salins  never  used 
any  other  language  than  French,  to  which,  of  course, 
the  old  patois  of  Lorraine  belongs.     More  to  the  north, 
however,  eleven  German-speaking  and  eight  French- 
speaking    localities    were    found    in    the    district    of 
Albestroff.     A  similar  state  of  affairs  existed  in  the 
annexed  portion  of  the  former  Moselle  department. 
The  people  dwelling  near  the  so-called  French  Nied 
spoke    French,   while  those  near  the   German  Nied 
used  both  languages,  which  practice  existed  also  in  the 
districts  of  Thionville,  Briey,  and  Longwy. 

Many  of  the  geographical  names  applied  to  rivers, 
towns,    villages,    etc.,    in    Alsace-Lorraine    are    un- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  213 

doubtedly  of  Celtic  origin.  The  very  name  of  the 
river  of  which  the  Germans  are  so  inordinately  proud 
— the  Rhine — is  Celtic,  signifying  a  mass  of  water. 
The  name  of  the  Rhone  has  the  same  origin,  and 
there  is,  by  the  way,  a  streamlet  called  the  Rhone 
south-west  of  Metz.  The  Orne,  a  tributary  of  the 
Meuse,  bears,  like  the  larger  Orne  in  Normandy,  a 
name  of  Celtic  derivation.  The  Meuse  (Mosa)  and  the 
Moselle  (Mosella)  owe  their  appellations  to  the  same 
source.  The  Bievre  takes  its  name  from  bebros,  which 
signified  beaver  in  Gallic  speech. 

Verdun  (Virodunum)  and  Liverdun  (Liverdunum) 
were,  as  their  names  attest,  strong  places  of  the  Celts. 
The  Romans,  it  will  be  remembered,  first  called  Metz 
Divodurum,  "  the  fortress  of  the  gods,"  after  its 
Celtic  name.  Mouzon  was  known  in  Roman  times  as 
Mosomagus,  "  the  field  of  the  Meuse."  Another 
example  of  the  terminal  magus  is  supplied  by  the 
Alsatian  town  of  Brumath,  originally  Brigamagus. 
"  Briga,"  like  "  dun,"  signified  fortress,  and  thus  we 
have  Vindobriga  (the  fortress  of  Vindos),  now  the 
village  of  Vandceuvre  near  Nancy,  and  Danobriga 
(the  fortress  of  Danos),  now  Denoeuvre  near  Baccarat. 
From  condate,  a  confluence,  comes  Conde ;  from 
Novientum  is  derived  Noveant  in  Lorraine,  besides 
all  the  many  Nogents  scattered  throughout  France. 
Tullum  was  the  original  name  of  Toul,  as  well  as  of 
Tulle  in  the  Limousin.  Even  Saletio,  the  early  name 
of  Seltz,  is  held  to  be  of  Celtic  origin.  The  terminal 
acus  occurred  in  many  of  the  Gallo-Roman  place- 
names  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  Nancy,  for  instance,  being 
Nantiacus,  the  property  of  Nantius.  Roman  genti- 
litial  forms  appear  in  many  of  the  older  names,  but 
sometimes  a  pure  Celtic  word  sufficed,  as  in  the 
case  of  nant,  brave,  warlike ;  whence  one  derives 


214  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

both     Nant-le-Grand     and     Nant-le-Petit     on     the 
Meuse. 

Several  years  ago  a  German  writer  named  Ludwig 
Bossier  tried  to  prove  that  the  place-names  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  were  Urdeutsch,  that  is,  original  or  primitive 
German ;  but  it  is  distinctly  a  question  whether  the 
many  more  or  less  Germanic  appellations  existing 
before  the  war  of  1870-71 — it  is  not  worth  while 
troubling  about  those  devised  since  then  by  the 
German  authorities — were  really  original  names  or 
whether  they  were  merely  superposed  in  such  wise  as 
to  cover  and  conceal  earlier  Celtic  or  Roman  ones. 
It  may  be  accepted  that  the  Celtic  substratum,  so  to 
say,  of  the  Alsatian  people  was  overspread  with  Latin 
and  German  strata.  Something  similar  would  seem 
to  have  occurred  with  respect  to  place-names. 

Pfister  points  out  that  the  rock  bearing  the  town 
of  Alt-Breisach  in  Baden  stood  on  the  left  or  Alsatian 
side  of  the  Rhine  before  that  river  changed  its  course, 
and  that  the  Romans  called  it  Mons  Brisiacus,  a 
name  evidently  derived  from  the  Celtic.  It  is,  in 
Pfister's  opinion,  an  error  to  think  that  the  Germaniza- 
tion  of  Alsace  dates  from  the  time  of  Ariovistus,*  and 
that  all  the  Celts  were  then  thrown  back  to  the 
Vosges,  where  they  are  represented  by  the  so-called 
Welsch  of  nowadays.  Ariovistus  was  only  fourteen 
years  in  the  region ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Tribocci  certainly  remained  in  Northern  Alsace,  and 
the  Mediomatrici  of  that  region  were  at  last  compelled 
to  withdraw  to  the  west  of  the  Vosges.  Now  the 
Romans  succeeded  in  some  matters  in  which  other 
nations  have  failed.  They  induced  the  peoples  whom 
they  subdued  to  accept  and  adopt  their  language. 
There  is  evidence  that  Latin  became  extensively 

*  See  p.  57  et  sc^.,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  215 

known  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  that,  indeed,  from 
A.D.  100  to  A.D.  350  or  thereabouts  it  was  the  dominant, 
though  one  cannot  say  the  exclusive,  language  of  the 
country.  There  are  numerous  localities  whose  names 
are  derived  directly  from  Latin.  This  appears  par- 
ticularly in  the  case  of  places  called  after  particular 
kinds  of  trees.  Aulnois-sur-Seille  derives  its  name 
from  alnetum,  a  spot  planted  with  alders ;  Malroy 
comes  from  malaretum,  an  apple  orchard  ;  the  various 
Norroys  in  Lorraine  derived  their  appellation  from 
nogaretum,  being  spots  where  walnuts  abounded. 
Again,  Preny  and  Pournoy  originated  in  prunidum ; 
the  different  localities  called  Bouxieres  and  also 
Bouxwiller  were  wooded  places,  bussarice.  Planti£res 
near  Metz  was  so  called  from  plantarice,  whilst  Cham- 
bieres,  now  the  site  of  the  Metz  cemetery,  took  its 
name  from  canabarice — being  anciently  a  place  where 
hemp  was  grown.  Boulay,  called  by  the  Germans 
Bolchen,  is  a  corruption  of  betuletum,  the  land  being 
planted  with  birches.  The  origin  of  such  names  as 
Fontenoy  and  Fontoy  is  obvious.  So  is  that  of 
Porcelette  (or  Porselt),  near  Saint- Avoid,  though  it 
may  be  unpleasant  to  have  one's  village,  perhaps 
one's  native  spot,  called  the  pigsty  or  piggery. 

The  terminals  ville,  wihr,  and  wilier  (Germanized 
as  weiler)  which  are  observed  in  so  many  place-names 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  are  all  corruptions  of  the  Latin 
suffixes  villare  and  villa.  Such  names  as  Magny  and 
Mesnils  are  derived  from  mansio  and  mansionile ; 
Maizeroy,  Maizery,  and  Mezieres  come  from  maceries. 
Lungenfeld  is  a  German  distortion  of  longavilla ; 
Kestenholz  a  mere  translation  of  castanetum.  Colmar 
is  an  abbreviated  adaptation  of  columbarium ;  whilst 
Zabern,  which  at  first  sight  might  appear  to  be  a 
peculiarly  German  name,  is  but  a  cloak  thrown  over 


216  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

the  original  tabernce  of  the  Roman  legions.  There  is 
a  place  known  as  Domfessel  in  the  vicinity  of  Saar- 
union.  It  was  originally  Domus  vassalorum.  Keskastel, 
in  the  same  district,  was  Ccesaris  castellum ;  whilst 
Singrist,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Marmoutier,  was 
Signwn  Christi,  dating  evidently  from  the  Christian 
era.  In  the  earlier  period  of  the  Roman  rule  in 
Alsace,  Strasburg  bore  the  name  of  Argentoratum. 
The  first  time  its  modern  name  appears — that  is,  in 
Gregory  of  Tours,  sixth  century — it  takes  the  form  of 
Strateburgum.  A  somewhat  later  writer  says  that 
this  designation  was  only  employed  by  the  vulgar. 
However  that  may  be,  Strata-burgus — the  fortress  on 
the  road  (from  Germany  to  Gaul) — was,  as  Pfister 
points  out,  as  good  Latin  as  Augusto-burgus,  the 
Roman  name  of  Augsburg.  In  the  case  of  the 
Alsatian  capital,  the  German  spelling,  Strassburg, 
fully  conveys  the  meaning  of  the  earlier  Latin  appella- 
tion. 

The  foregoing  summary  will  have  shown  that  the 
Roman  like  the  Celtic  dominion  left  its  mark  on  the 
place-names  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  in  such  wise  as  to 
dispose  largely  of  the  Urdeutsch  theories  of  Herr 
Ludwig  Bossier.  In  the  fourth  century  of  our  era, 
however,  the  German  idiom  began  to  spread  through 
the  region.  Rome,  besides  taking  many  German 
barbarians  into  her  service,  settled  many  colonists, 
Iceti,  in  vacant  territories.  I  showed  in  a  previous 
chapter  that  the  many  Germanic  invasions  of  the 
fourth  century  were  repulsed,  but  it  may  be  assumed 
that  a  certain  number  of  the  invaders  often  remained 
in  a  more  or  less  subject  state  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Rhine,  and  that  in  this  wise  the  Germanic  element 
increased,  until  in  the  sixth  century  it  became  the 
largest.  Nevertheless  a  Latinized  population  survived 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  217 

in  the  Vosgian  parts  of  Alsace,  where  its  speech 
became  transformed  into  the  romanesque  dialect 
which  is  still  current  there.  Here  are  a  few  proverbs 
of  this  region  with  their  equivalents  in  French  : 

Pu  qu'  lo  lou  e,  pu  qu'il  vu  evou  (Plus  le  loup  a,  plus  il  veut  avoir). 

Faire  lo  dchin  pou  avou  1'ouse  (Faire  le  chien  pour  avoir  1'os). 

Quo  lo  pouo  a  grae  il  caisse  Id  ran  (Quand  le  pore  est  gras  il  casse  le  ran 

(etable) ). 
II  lieie  lo  dale  que  n'e  mi  ma  (II  lie  le  doigt  qui  n'a  pas  mal). 

Here  is  another  specimen  of  the  Vosgian  vernacular. 
It  shows  a  man  complaining  of  the  weather  : 

Que  to  !  j'ai  tu  aujeduye  moyi  jusqu'es  osse.  J'ai  tu  pou  bochi ;  j'voyezor 
bie  enne  nouache  to  nar,  ma  j'creyezo  que  ce  n'  serd  rie,  et  qu'  lo  gran  vo  lo 
vir6  pu  Ion.  Ma  il  o  crov6  quan  i  n'etaizor  pu  to  pou  r'veni.  J'a  bi&  mettu 
du  chesse  seu  mi,  ma  ce  n'eimpechezo  mi  qu'  j'a  tu  moyi  bi6-u  a  poi. 

(Quel  temps !  J'ai  et6  aujourd'hui  mouil!6  jusqu'aux  os.  J'ai  ete  pour 
becher,  je  voyais  bien  un  nuage  tout  noir,  mais  je  croyais  que  ce  ne  serait 
rien,  et  que  le  grand  vent  le  pousserait  plus  loin.  Mais  il  est  erevd,  quand  il 
n'etait  plus  temps  de  revenir.  J'ai  bien  mis  deux  sacs  sur  moi,  mais  9a 
n'empechait  pas  que  j'ai  etc  mouilld  bien  a  point.) 

Further,  here  is  a  child's  song,  formerly  sung  in 
the  Ban  de  la  Roche,*  annexed  by  the  Germans  and 
called  by  them  Steintal.  This  specimen  shows  even 
a  closer  resemblance  to  ordinary  French  : 


Foare,  foare  mo  dchva, 
Pou  demain  al!6  au  sa  ; 
Foare,  foare  mo  polain, 
Pou  d'  main  alle  au  bian  pan  ! 
Lo  pai,  lo  pai,  lo  trot,  lo  trot, 
Lo  gailop,  Lo  gailop  ! 

(Ferre,  ferre  mon  cheval, 
Pour  aller  demain  au  sel ; 
Ferre,  ferre  inon  poulain, 
Pour  aller  demain  au  blanc  pain  ! 
Le  pas,  le  pas,  le  trot,  le  trot, 
Le  galop,  le  galop  !) 

A  writer  named  Fallot,  who  in  1828  produced  at 
Montbeliard  a  little  book  on  the  patois  of  Franche- 

*  See  p.  36,  ante, 


218  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

Comte*,  Lorraine,  and  Alsace,  showing  the  great 
similarity  between  them,  pointed  out  that  a  large 
number  of  the  words  used  by  the  peasantry  differed 
essentially  from  Latin,  French,  and  German.  As  the 
present  volume  is  not  a  dictionary  I  will  content 
myself  with  quoting  just  a  few  of  the  examples  which 
Fallot  gave  : 

Latin  French  German  Patois 

Anas  Canard  Ente  Bourrai 

Hortus  Jardin  Garten  Quetchi 

Templum  Eglise  Kirch  Motie 

Cimex  Punaise  Wantze  Teufion 

Whilst  the  Germanic  speech  was  spreading  in 
Alsace,  it  also  penetrated  into  parts  of  Lorraine.  But 
the  stronghold  of  Metz,  under  whose  walls  the  Celto- 
Roman  inhabitants  sought  protection,  served  as  a 
barrier  against  both  the  Tribocci  and  the  Ripuarian 
Franks.  When  in  the  fifth  century  Metz  succumbed 
beneath  the  onslaughts  of  Attila  and  the  Huns  the 
flood-tide  of  the  Germanic  invasions  had  abated.  In 
496,  by  the  so-called  victory  of  Tolbiac,  Clovis  destroyed 
the  power  of  the  Alemanni,  and  even  imposed  his 
rule  on  the  Ripuarians.  Meantime,  though  Metz  and 
Toul  were  swayed  by  a  Prankish  chief  they  retained 
their  Gallo-Roman  language.  The  patois  of  Metz 
has  always  differed  somewhat  from  the  other  dialects 
of  Lorraine,  and  I  therefore  append  a  few  specimens. 
The  first  is  taken  from  a  seventeenth-century  trimazo 
— a  spring-time  song,  such  songs  having  been  current 
in  Lorraine  since  druidical  times  : 

J'a  vu  trabeun  (beaucoup)  de  beis  gueichons 
Fliambet  d'in  coup  pe  let  quenons  (canons), 
J'a  vu  zous  (leurs)  belles  desalayes 
Treus  mois  epres  tot's  consolayes. 
0  trimazo ! 

S'at  (c'est)  lo  maye,  6  mi  maye, 

S'at  lo  jali  mois  de  maye, 

S'at  lo  trimazo ! 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  219 

Here  are  the  opening  verses  of  a  vintage  song, 
formerly  familiar  in  the  Pays  Messin  : 

Queu  pliaji  (plaisir)  d'etre  en  vendome  (vendange), 

Quand  lo  s'lat  (soleil)  dour  (dore)  les  coteaux, 
On  e'en  beille  (donne),  Dieu  sait  comme, 

En  oorant  pe  monts,  pe  vaux. 

Les  gueichons  (gar£ons)  prach'  (pres)  des  bacelles  (filles) 
Sont  gueuilrets  (guillerets)  com'  des  mochats  (fauvettes), 

Aux  peutes  (laides)  tot  com'  aux  belles 
Y  font  bet  (battre)  des  enteurchats. 

Finally  the  following  comes  from  a  comedy  written 
in  the  old  patois  of  Metz  and  entitled  "  Lo  Meriege 
des  Brauves  "  ("  Le  Mariage  des  Braves  "). 

Scene  premire.  Suzon,  6rangeant  let  chambe  et  1'erazant  (le  balayant) ; 
Charle,  Joseph,  en  hebits  de  militares,  lo  preumin  (le  premier)  eva  1'epaye 
(1'epee)  en  bandoliere ;  lo  s'gond  eva  in  sabe  (sabre)  de  meme,  et  ch6quin 
des  mosteches  et  in  ptiat  beton  e  let  main. 

<  Joseph.  Boinjo,  let  bele  afant,  v'  feyeus  mou  bei  cheuz  vos. 

Suzon.  Vat'  servante.  .  .  .  Qu'as'  qu'il  y  et  po  vat'  service  ? 

Joseph.  Je  v'nans  v'  demandet  e  sopet  et  in  boin  lit. 

CharU.  Que  j'  vos  priera  d'  bien  baisnet  (bassiner),  s'  let  fat  done  bien 
quand  on  at  hade  (fatigue). 

Suzon.  J'mattra,  si  v'  volens,  in  pou  d'  seuq  (sucre)  dans  les  baisneure 
(bassinoire),  si  s'let  v'  fat  pliaji  (plaisir). 

Certain  words,  such  as  boin  (bon),  in  (un),  let  (la), 
^  and  et  (a  and  a),  remain  the  same  in  the  different 
Lorraine  dialects.  This  is  shown  by  the  opening 
stanza  of  an  old  Noel  sung  at  Nancy  and  Epinal : 

Enne  (une)  jeune  baisselle  (bacelle,  bachelle) 

De  boin  paran, 
Que  fut  toujou  pucelle 

En  sa  viquant, 

Dehant  in  jou 

See  patenot  (paten6tres)  et  set  chambe, 
Vit  in  eindg    (ange)  deshante  (descendre) 
De  let  pai  (la  part)  de  not  Cheignou  (Seigneur). 

With  respect  to  place-names,  changes  occurred  in 
North-Eastern  Lorraine  in  much  the  same  way  as  they 
occurred  in  Alsace,  Amidst  the  many  vicissitudes  of 


220  THE   TRUE   STORY    OF 

early  days  such  changes  were  bound  to  happen.  In 
Merovingian  times  vacant,  abandoned,  or  confiscated 
lands  took  the  names  of  their  new  owners,  to  which 
some  such  suffix  as  villare  was  often  added.  Yet  the 
Roman  remains — bricks,  tiles,  vases,  medals,  coins,  and 
so  forth — found  on  these  spots  tell  of  days  long 
previous  to  the  Merovingian  era.  Such  names  as 
Rambervillers,  Badonviller,  Gerbeviller,  Gondreville, 
and  Remiremont  come  from  Ramberti- villare,  Bo- 
donis- villare,  Gerberti-villare,  Gundulfi-villa,  and  Ro- 
marici-mons.  Bodon  was  a  seventh-century  Bishop 
of  Toul,  Romaric  is  known  to  have  founded  the  Abbey 
of  Remiremont  about  the  same  period.  In  none  of 
the  five  places  I  have  enumerated  has  German  ever 
been  the  current  idiom.  If  Rambert,  Gerbert,  and 
the  others  were  Franks  they  speedily  accommodated 
themselves  to  the  vernacular  of  their  Gallo-Roman 
hinds  and  neighbours. 

In  the  part  of  Lorraine  most  peopled  by  Germanic 
folk  villare  was  usually  changed  into  wihr,  as  was  often 
the  case  also  in  Alsace.,  Other  suffixes  introduced  by 
the  invaders  were  heim  (house),  dorf  and  troff  (village), 
and  ingen,  an  equivalent  of  the  Celtic  acus.  Most  of 
the  names  ending  in  ingen  will  be  found  in  German 
Lorraine,  where  the  French  in  some  instances  after- 
wards altered  it  to  ange,  as  in  the  case  of  Finstingen, 
Fenestrange.  In  one  of  the  oldest  documents  respect- 
ing Alsace  (673)  one  reads  of  Monesensisheim  and 
Onenheim,  names  which  subsequently  underwent  still 
further  Germanization,  becoming  Munzenheim  and 
Ohnenheim.  Those  examples  indicate  the  kind  of 
process  which  occurred. 

Christianity  tended  to  alter  many  old  place-names, 
besides  providing  names  for  the  new  villages  which 
sprang  up.  A  parish  whose  church  or  chapel  was 


ALSACE-LO  R  R  A  I  N  E  221 

dedicated  to  some  particular  saint  often  took  his 
name.  That  of  Dannemarie  (altered  by  the  Germans 
to  Dammerkirch)  comes  from  Donna  Maria.  More- 
over, sanctus  (sankt,  saint)  gradually  replaced  domnus. 
Briefly,  in  the  sixth  century  German  and  Latin  com- 
peted for  pre-eminence,  the  latter,  however,  taking  in 
an  increasing  degree  the  romane  form. 

Apart  from  the  early  irruptions,  the  wars  of  more 
modern  times  brought  many  Germans  into  Alsace. 
Some  were  refugees  fleeing  from  religious  struggles. 
In  the  sixteenth  century,  moreover,  a  number  of 
Saxon  colonists  were  attracted  to  the  region  by  the 
silver-mines  of  Sainte-Marie.  Other  miners  came  on 
various  occasions  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  both  to  Sainte-Marie  and  Sainte-Croix.  At 
an  earlier  date,  however,  in  the  vicinity  of  Schirmeck 
there  was  an  influx  of  French  Switzers  from  Porrentruy 
and  Delemont. 

There  are  considerable  differences  between  the 
Germanic  dialects  of  Alsace.  In  the  Sundgau  the 
vernacular  is  akin  to  the  German  of  the  neighbouring 
parts  of  Switzerland.  In  the  north  the  idiom 
resembles  that  of  the  Palatinate.  The  people  of 
Colmar  speak  differently  from  those  of  Strasburg. 
In  fact  different  pronunciations  will  be  found  in 
neighbouring  communes,  and  corrupt  words  derived 
from  French  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Before 
the  annexation  of  1871  the  dialects  of  some  dis- 
tricts were  almost  incomprehensible  to  the  Badeners 
dwelling  just  across  the  Rhine.  Now  and  again, 
by  fits  and  starts,  the  Government  of  the  old  regime 
wished  to  impose  the  French  language  on  the  people, 
but  it  never  did  anything  to  encourage  a  knowledge 
of  it.  Pfister  declares  that  not  a  word  of  French  was 
taught  in  the  schools  of  Alsace  and  the  Germanic  part 


222  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

of  Lorraine  until  the  Revolution  of  1789.  The  chil- 
dren, says  he,  did  not  even  learn  to  use  Roman 
letters  when  writing.  In  the  signatures  which  figure 
in  the  old  registers,  German  Gothic  is  invariably 
employed.  The  knowledge  of  French  was  long  con- 
fined to  the  upper  classes  and  to  the  townsfolk  of 
the  middle  class.  They  did  not  acquire  it,  however, 
at  the  University  of  Strasburg,  for  all  the  teaching 
there  was  in  Latin.  They  picked  it  up  chiefly  by 
journeys  through  France,  sojourns  in  Paris,  or  inter- 
course with  French  functionaries  and  military  folk. 
At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  National  Conven- 
tion was  desirous  of  remedying  this  state  of  affairs, 
and  even  voted  a  credit  of  600,000  francs  to  that 
effect.  But  the  wars,  the  disorderly  state  of  the 
country,  the  general  unrest,  prevented  the  realization 
of  such  a  project,  and  it  was  only  at  the  time  of 
Lezay-Marnezia's  prefectship,*  and  again  during 
Louis  Philippe's  reign  that  the  Alsatian  schools  under- 
went real  improvements. 

Since  1871  the  German  rulers  have  done  their 
utmost  to  extirpate  the  French  language.  They 
speedily  made  their  own  speech  obligatory  for  all 
public  bodies.  In  1888  they  imposed  it  on  the  petty 
law-courts  of  the  so-called  Welsch  districts.  They 
even  forbade  parents  to  give  French  Christian  names 
to  their  children.  Ren6  had  been  a  very  popular 
name  in  the  annexed  part  of  Lorraine — it  recalled  the 
duke  who  defeated  Charles  the  Rash  of  Burgundy — 
but  the  Germans  would  not  suffer  its  bestowal  on 
any  infant.  Some  little  trouble  ensued,  but  finally 
the  Latin  form  Renatus  was  accepted. 

Not  a  word  of  French  has  been  taught  in  the 
elementary  schools  of  Alsace  since  the  annexation. 

*  See  p.  119,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  223 

In  that  connexion  I  remember  the  refrain  of  a  song, 
supposed  to  be  sung  by  an  old  Alsatian  schoolmaster : 

La  patrouille  allemande  passe, 

Baissez  la  voix,  mes  chers  petits, 

Parler  fran^ais  n'est  pins  pennis 
Aux  petits  enfanta  de  F  Alsace  ! 

Even  the  use  of  such  words  as  merci,  bonjour,  and 
mademoiselle  (when  addressing  a  school-teacher)  was 
forbidden  the  village  children.  In  the  secondary 
schools  a  little  French  was  allowed,  but  the  hours 
given  to  its  study  were  as  far  as  possible  curtailed. 
The  efforts  to  banish  the  French  language  were 
particularly  great  in  the  Welsch  districts,  notably 
those  of  Lorraine — such  as  Chateau-Salins,  whose 
French  race  was  subjected  to  the  most  odious  Ger- 
manization.  Metz,  moreover,  was  largely  transformed 
by  the  influx  of  thousands  of  Teutons,  who  imposed 
their  guttural  speech  upon  its  population. 

Although  ethnology  and  language  help  one  to 
determine  nationality,  they  can  only  be  relied  upon 
within  reasonable  limits.  Let  nobody  imagine  that 
identity  of  idiom  necessarily  implies  identity  of 
opinions,  sentiments,  or  aspirations.  Not  only  among 
the  so-called  Welsch  of  Alsace,  but  also  among  the 
Germanic  section  of  the  people,  the  neighbouring 
Germans^  were  always  unpopular.  They  were  con- 
temptuously designated  as  Schwabs,  and  there  were 
many  Alsatian  legends  and  tales  turning  them  to 
ridicule.  One  may  well  ask,  also,  what  distinguished 
men  were  ever  given  by  Alsace-Lorraine  to  Germany. 
At  long  intervals  in  the  old  days  a  soldier,  a  scholar 
of  some  degree  of  eminence,  arose,  to  whom  Germany 
might  lay  claim,  though  the  former  was  usually  a 
mere  soldier  of  fortune  ready  to  serve  the  master  who 
paid  him  best,  and  the  latter,  a  writer  who  did  not 


224  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

pen  his  treatises  in  a  tongue  suitable  for  horses — as,  I 
think,  Francis  I  once  put  it— but  in  Latin,  the  then 
universal  language  of  the  learned.  On  the  other 
hand  the  distinguished  men  given  by  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  to  France  have  been  strikingly  numerous.  I 
have  mentioned  several  in  the  course  of  these  pages, 
It  would  take  me  too  long  to  compile  a  complete  list, 
and  I  should  not  have  sufficient  space  to  include  it  in 
this  volume,  but  here  is  a  partial  one  jotted  down 
au  courant  de  la  plume  : 

Soldiers — Marshals  and  Generals  :  Fabert,  Ney,  Victor,  Custines,  Oudinot, 
Gouvion-Saint-Cyr,  Gerard,  Kellermann,  Kleber,  Lefebvre,  Lobau,  Molitor, 
Duroc,  Lasalle,  Rapp,  Drouot,  Scherer,  Thiebault,  Chavert,  Schramm, 
Exelmans,  Richepanse,  Uhrich,  Paixhans,  Sigisbert  Hugo,*  Margueritte, 
Poncelet,  De  Reiset,  Virgile  Schneider,  Haxo,  Jacqueminot,  Houchard, 
Lallemand,  Courtot,  Eble,  D'Andlau,  Athalin,  Vescot,  Barbier,  Bechot, 
Braun,  Conrad,  Denzel,  Gelb,  Klinger,  Klcecker,  Menjaud,  Reibell,  De 
Reinach,  Span,  Scherb,  Wehrl6,  Freytag,  Scholt,  several  Berckheims, 
Dettlingens,  Montjoyes,  Rosens,  Wurmsers,t  and  Waldners.  Also  the  Gayets, 
intendants  generaux  des  armees,  Morel  and  the  Lorentzes,  father  and  eon, 
chirurgiens  en  chef  des  armees,  and  Wolf  Wagner,  the  daring  guerilla-leader  in 
the  Vosges  in  1814.  A  hundred  others  might  be  added  to  the  foregoing. 

The  names  of  two  admirals  also  occur  to  me  :  Bruat,  who  commanded  in 
the  Black  Sea  during  the  Crimean  War,  and  De  Rigny,  who  commanded  the 
French  squadron  at  Navarino. 

Statesmen,  diplomatists,  politicians,  high  functionaries,  etc. :  Jules  Ferry, 
Raymond  Poincare,  President  of  the  Republic,  Baron  Louis,  the  Gerards, 
the  Dietrichs,  Bouchotte,  Count  Roederer,  Marbois,  Merlin  de  Thionville, 
Boulay  de  la  Meurthe,  Thouvenel,  Buffet,  Eugene  Schneider,  Ktiss,  some  of 
the  Montjoyes  and  Rosens,  Schirmer,  Keller,  the  Kcechlins,  Scheurer-Kestner, 
Marechal,  Edmond  Valentin,  Schneegans,  Ketle,  Bamberger,  Humbert, 
Grosjean,  and  many  others. 

Ecclesiastics  :  Cardinal  Mathieu,  Cardinal  Louis  (not  Edouard)  de  Rohan, 
De  Lenoncourt  (Bishop  of  Metz),J  Gobel  (the  "  constitutional "  Bishop  of 
Paris),  Pastor  Oberlin  the  philanthropist,  Abbe  Gregoire,  Abb6  Wetterle, 
etc. 

Scientists :  Jules-Henri,  I^eon  and  Lucien  Poincare,  Bartholdi,  Barrel, 
Crevaux,  Pilatre  de  Rozier,  Maurice  Levy,  Mathieu  de  Dombasle,  Pariset, 

*  His  son  Victor  Hugo  was  born  at  Besa^on,  but  the  family  belonged 
to  the  Xanthois  district  of  Lorraine,  between  Remiremont  and  Pont-Saint- 
Victor. 

j-  Apart  from  the  one,  a  native  of  Strasburg,  who  entered  the  Austrian 
service  and  was  defeated  by  Napoleon  at  Castiglione. 

J  Ke  promoted  the  union  of  Metz  with  France  in  1552. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  225 

Sonnini,  several  Dollfuses,  etc.  Pasteur  was  at  one  time  prominently  connected 
with  the  University  of  Strasburg. 

Writers  and  Scholars :  J.  Le  Duchat,  the  brothers  Lacretelle,  Saint- 
Lambert,  Gilbert,  Grimoard,  Arbois  de  Jurainville,  Xavier  Marmier,  Edmond 
About,  Andre  Theuriet,  Erckmann-Chatrian,  Maimbourg,  F.  B.  Hoffmann, 
J.  J.  Oberlin,  Jean  Mace,  P.  J.  Stahl,  J.  J.  Weiss,  Scherer,  Nefftzer,  Siebecker, 
Chevalier  de  Boufflers,  J.  G.  Eckhard,  the  Engelhardts,  Jung,  Renouard  de 
Bussiere,  Andrieu,  Arnold,  the  Pfisters,  Maurice  Barres,  Louis  Ratisbonne, 
Paul  Verlaine,  Ardouin-Dumazet,  Buchoz,  the  Ancillons,  Alfred  Mezieres, 
Pixerecourt,  Eugene  de  Mirecourt,  Mme.  de  Graffigny,  Mme.  Aimable  Tastu, 
etc.  Edmond  de  Goncourt,  moreover,  was  born  at  Nancy. 

Artists,  -including  painters,  sculptors,  engravers,  musicians,  etc. :  Claude 
Lorrain,  Clodion,  Ligier-Richier,  Jacques  Callot,  Sebastien  Leclerc,  Baron 
Gerard,*  Isabey,  Bastien-Lepage,  Henner,  the  Drouins,  Bartholdi,  the  Drol- 
lings,  Jean  Lamour,  Leprince,  Adolphe  Yvon,  the  four  Gu6rins,  Gustave  Dore, 
Nocret,  Theodore  Jung,  Sigisbert  Adam,  Chassel,  the  Dietterlins,  Corti, 
Bugard,  Henriet,  the  Levraults,  Bauer,  Spierre,  F.  Dauphin,  Jundt,  Grand- 
ville,  Hansi,  Legrand,  Jacquot,  Marechal,  Ambroise  Thomas,  Monvel  and 
his  daughter  Mile.  Mars,  Mme.  Arnould-Plessy,  etc. 

Although  those  lists  are  very  rough  and  imperfect 
they  will  at  least  give  some  idea  of  what  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  have  contributed  to  France's  fame  and 
culture.  Some  of  the  old  Lorrainer  dukes,  sprung 
from  the  House  of  France,  were  able  as  well  as  valiant 
princes.  The  Guises,  who,  whatever  their  policy  may 
have  been,  were  remarkable  scions  of  the  ducal  line, 
belong  essentially  to  French  history.  Many  of  the 
other  nobility  whom  I  have  not  mentioned  were  men 
of  distinction,  sometimes  of  high  merit.  The  four 
grands  chevaux  of  Lorraine — the  Haraucourts,  the 
Lenoncourts,  the  Du  Chatelets,  and  the  Lignevilles 
(the  last-named  house  alone  now  existing) — were  not 
merely  grands  seigneurs,  but  often  also  skilful  captains 
and  expert  counsellors.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  so-called  petits  chevaux,  among  whom,  besides 
Bassompierre  and  the  Haussonvilles,  whom  I  have 
mentioned,  there  were  some  of  the  Choiseuls,  the 
Hunolsteins,  the  Lambertyes,  the  Oberkirchs,  the 

*  Though  born  at  Rome  he  was  a  Lorrainer.  A  similar  remark  applies 
to  others  in  the  above  lists.  Blood  comei  before  birthplace. 


226  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Nettancourts,  the  Beauvaus  and  the  Rougemonts. 
Men  eminent  in  industry  were  numerous  in  both 
provinces.  The  artisans  were  often  famed  for  their 
work,  and  one  and  all,  whatever  their  station  or 
calling,  have  constituted  an  essential  part  of  the 
great  heritage  of  France,  in  which  Germany  can 
claim  no  share. 

As  I  have  said  before,  both  Lorrainers  and  Alsatians 
long  loved  their  independence.  But  when,  situated 
as  they  were  between  two  strong  Powers,  it  became  a 
question  of  uniting  themselves  with  one  or  the  other, 
they  preferred  France  to  Germany.  Certainly  the  old 
Bourbon  regime  was  a  bad  one,  but  in  common  with 
all  the  rest  of  France — for  it  was  the  same  throughout 
the  country — Alsace  and  Lorraine  endured  it  without 
seeking  separation.  When  the  great  Revolution  came 
and  brought  invasion  in  its  train,  none  were  more 
eager  to  throw  back  the  aggressors  from  across  the 
Rhine.  The  "  lost  brothers,"  as  the  Germans  called 
them,  were  by  no  means  anxious  to  join  their  reputed 
kindred.  As  I  shall  show  in  my  next  chapter  the 
provinces  were  of  precisely  the  same  mind  in  1870-71, 
and  a  cry  of  grief  and  protest  went  up  when  the  evil 
day  of  annexation  dawned.  The  majority  were  con- 
strained by  circumstances  to  remain  and  become 
German  subjects,  but  thousands  fled  and  have  been 
fleeing  ever  since,  as  I  shall  ^presently  establish. 
Never,  indeed,  has  there  been  a  cessation  of  the 
exodus  to  escape  the  odious  Prussian  rule.  Even  the 
storks,  those  familiars  of  the  old  Alsatian  villages, 
come  thither,  it  is  said,  in  far  smaller  numbers  than 
they  used  to  do.  It  was  held  in  the  long  ago  that 
these  birds  would  only  dwell  in  lands  of  freedom.  At 
all  events  those  which  come  to  Alsace  in  the  fair 
reason  nowadays,  seem  to  distinguish  between  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  227 

genuine  old  inhabitants  and  the  many  settlers  imported 
from  across  the  Rhine  and  planted  throughout  the 
province.  One  might  think  these  feathered  visitors 
possessed  of  sufficient  sagacity  to  discriminate  between 
liberty's  friends  and  her  open  or  covert  enemies. 


VIII 
THE  WAR  OF  187O-71 

A  Glance  at  the  Causes  of  the  Struggle  :  The  first  French  Defeats — 
Wissembourg,  Worth,  Forbach  :  The  Occupation  of  Nancy  :  The 
Battles  near  Metz  :  The  March  on  Sedan  :  General  Pajol  and  Napo- 
leon III  :  The  Siege  of  Strasburg  :  Edmond  Valentin's  remarkable 
Adventures  :  German  Exactions  at  Strasburg  :  The  Sieges  of  Phah- 
bourg,  Schlestadt,  Neuf-Brisach,  Verdun,  Metz,  Longwy,  Bitche,  and 
Belfort  :  German  Excesses  and  Oppression  in  Alsace-Lorraine  :  The 
Preliminaries  of  Peace  :  Protests  of  Alsace-Lorraine. 

IN  former  books  of  mine  I  discussed  the  causes  of  the 
war  which  broke  out  between  France  and  Germany  in 
1870  * ;  and  desiring  in  the  present  volume  to  confine 
myself  as  much  as  possible  to  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  I 
do  not  propose  to  deal  with  general  matters  at  any 
length.  The  reader  may  be  reminded,  however,  that 
both  Bismarck  and  Napoleon  III  wrere  bent  upon 
war.  The  former,  who  already  contemplated  the 
creation  of  a  newr  German  Empire  for  Prussia's  benefit, 
realized  that  this  would  only  be  possible  if  the  power 
of  France  were  diminished,  and  the  better  to  effect 
that  purpose  he  resolved  from  the  very  outset  to 
deprive  the  French  of  their  strip  of  frontier  on  the 
Bhine  by  annexing  the  province  of  Alsace.  The 
seizure  of  a  part  of  Lorraine  wras  an  after-thought 
inspired  by  the  great  successes  of  the  German  armies. 
In  September  1870,  after  Sedan,  but  whilst  Bazaine 
was  still  holding  out  at  Metz,  Bismarck  told  Jules 
Favre,  the  Foreign  Minister  of  the  National  Defence, 

*  See  "  The  Court  of  th«  Tuileries,  1852-1870  "  ;  "  My  Days  of  Adventure  : 
the  Fall  of  France,  1870-71  "  ;   and  "  Republican  Franca,  1870-1912." 

228 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  229 

that  the  price  of  peace  at  that  moment  would  be  Alsace 
and  an  indemnity  of  two  milliards  of  francs,  but  that 
if  the  war  were  prolonged  he  should  also  demand  a 
part  of  Lorraine  and  a  much  larger  indemnity.  Little 
if  anything  was  said  about  Lorraine  at  the  outset  of 
the  wrar,  but  the  question  of  annexing  Alsace  at  once 
came  to  the  front  in  Germany.  As  I  have  previously 
stated,  geographers  and  others  had  prepared  the  way 
for  such  a  demand,  but,  curiously  enough,  though  the 
Prussian  Press  supported  it,  far  more  eagerness  on  the 
subject  was  displayed  in  Southern  Germany — Baden, 
Wiirttemberg  and  Bavaria — where  quite  a  clamour 
arose  in  favour  of  annexation. 

I  have  said  that  Napoleon  III  was,  like  Bismarck, 
bent  on  war.  Elsewhere  I  have  explained  that 
dynastic  considerations  in  view  of  the  Republican 
propaganda  carried  on  in  France,  resentment  on 
account  of  the  diplomatic  victories  which  Bismarck 
had  gained  over  him,  and,  quite  reasonably,  appre- 
hension inspired  by  the  excessive  aggrandizement  of 
Prussia,  conjointly  inclined  the  Emperor  to  commit 
his  fortunes  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  His 
home  policy  had  been  ratified  by  a  plebiscitum  not 
long  previously,  and  his  secret  correspondence  with 
certain  German  princes  and  statesmen  since  the  war 
of  1866,  which  had  so  largely  modified  the  German 
map,  led  him  to  think  that  although  Baden  might 
support  Prussia,  neither  Bavaria,  nor  Wiirttemberg, 
nor  Hesse  would  do  so.  Saxony,  moreover,  might 
well  be  on  his  side.  The  correspondence  on  which 
Napoleon  based  those  hopes  was  discovered  at  the 
chateau  of  Cer£ay*  during  the  war,  and  utilized  by 
Bismarck  to  compel  the  implicated  governments  to 

*  The  country  residence  of  Eugene  Rouher,  the  statesman  whom  the 
Emperor  most  trusted. 


230  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

assent  to  the  foundation  of  an  empire  for  Prussia's 
benefit.  But  Napoleon  also  relied  on  the  support  of 
Austria  and  Italy.  The  former  had  absolutely 
entered  into  a  covenant  with  him,  but  she  was  not 
ready,  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  war  should  only 
take  place  in  1871.  Some  Hungarian  politicians 
betrayed  everything  to  Bismarck,  who,  resolving  that 
he  would  not  wait  for  Napoleon's  convenience,  forced 
his  hand  by  means  of  the  Hohenzollern  candidature 
to  the  Spanish  throne.  Thus  events  were  precipitated. 
Forgery  and  the  suppression  of  facts  brought  Bavaria 
and  Wurttemberg  to  the  side  of  Prussia,  the  offer  of 
papal  Rome  to  Italy  prevented  her  intervention, 
Austria — with  the  Hungarians  supporting  the  Prussian 
cause — could  do  nothing,  and  so,  in  July  1870,  came 
the  war  which  Napoleon  and  the  Archduke  Albert 
had  planned  for  the  ensuing  spring. 

There  were  undoubtedly  moments  when  the  Em- 
peror felt  that  he  was  entering  upon  a  very  hazardous 
course,  but  he  was  largely  influenced  by  a  military 
coterie  which,  whilst  full  of  patriotism,  was  deplorably 
ignorant  of  the  deficiencies  of  the  French  army,  and 
the  superiority  in  many  respects  of  its  destined 
antagonists.  The  country  generally  did  not  desire 
war.  This  is  shown  by  the  large  number  of  telegrams 
in  which  prefects  and  other  provincial  functionaries 
gave  expression  to  the  hopes  and  opinions  of  the 
people  inhabiting  their  respective  departments.  A 
strong  desire  for  the  preservation  of  peace  was  ex- 
pressed in  almost  every  instance,  but,  as  I  indicated 
in  the  first  chapter  of  this  volume,  Bismarck  so 
managed  affairs  that  only  by  absolute  subservience 
to  Prussia  could  France  have  avoided  the  great 
struggle. 

Napoleon  assumed  the  command  of  his  armies, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  231 

and  main  head-quarters  being  established  at  Metz,  he 
arrived  there  on  July  27.  Six  days  later  there  was  a 
little  engagement  at  Saarbriicken,  where  the  Prussians 
were  attacked  by  some  of  the  troops  commanded  by 
General  Frossard,  who  had  previously  been  governor 
to  the  young  Imperial  Prince.  It  was  at  the  Saar- 
briicken affair  that  this  lad  received  the  so-called 
Baptism  of  Fire.  Next,  the  Prussian  Army  com- 
manded by  the  Crown  Prince  (afterwards  Emperor) 
Frederick  crossed  the  Lauter,  and  on  August  4  General 
Abel  Douay,  who  had  some  9000  men  with  him,  was 
surprised  at  Wissembourg  by  two  Prussian  Army 
Corps  and  a  large  Bavarian  contingent.  Douay's 
Turcos  put  up  a  gallant  fight,  but  were  hopelessly 
outnumbered.  Douay  himself  was  killed  in  the  en- 
gagement, and  Pelle,  who  commanded  the  Turcos, 
took  his  place,  and  placing  the  colours  in  the  centre 
of  his  column  succeeded  in  retreating  in  good  order 
upon  Soultz.  The  French  had  suffered  severe  losses, 
but  they  left  only  one  gun  in  the  enemy's  hands.  It 
appears  that  the  sub-prefect  of  Wissembourg  sent  a 
warning  to  Marshal  MacMahon  at  the  very  outset  of 
the  affair,  but  it  was  impossible  to  dispatch  assistance 
to  Douay  in  time  to  prevent  a  defeat. 

Two  days  later,  the  6th,  MacMahon  himself  was 
attacked  by  the  victorious  Prussians,  whom  he  had  not 
expected  to  encounter  before  August  8.  He  had 
requested  that  an  army  corps  under  the  orders  of 
General  de  Failly,  a  former  aide-de-camp  of  the 
Emperor's,  might  be  placed  at  his  disposal,  and  he 
expected  its  arrival.  It  has  been  stated  that  de 
Failly  was  instructed  to  move  on  Lembach  near  Worth, 
but  by  some  mistake  went  towards  Lemberg  near 
Bitche.  On  the  day  of  the  battle  he  certainly  was  near 
Bitche,  but  no  attempt  was  made  to  telegraph  to  him 


232  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

there,  and  only  by  a  chance  telegram  sent  by  a  railway 
stationmaster  did  he  learn,  too  late,  of  the  desperate 
straits  in  which  the  Marshal  found  himself.  One  of 
de  Failly's  divisions  (commanded  by  Guyot  de  Lespart) 
reached  Niederbronn  merely  in  time  to  assist  in 
covering  to  some  extent  the  retreat  of  MacMahon's 
forces.  That  was  after  the  valiant  but  unavailing 
charge  of  the  Cuirassiers  at  Morsbronn.  The  enemy 
paid  a  stiff  price  for  his  victory,  losing  489  officers  and 
over  10,000  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  the  losses 
of  the  French,  who  were  grievously  outnumbered, 
amounting  to  about  6000.  Unfortunately,  in  the 
debacle  with  which  the  battle  ended,  the  Germans  took 
9000  prisoners.  Some  2500  fugitives  of  the  5th 
Corps  made  their  way  to  Bitche,  others  threw  them- 
selves into  Phalsbourg,  whilst  others  managed  to  reach 
Strasburg.  Among  the  last  was  a  detachment  of 
naval  men  under  Rear- Admiral  Exelmans  and  Captain 
Dupetit-Thouars.  At  a  later  period  of  the  war  the 
navy  contributed  many  officers  and  men  to  the  French 
armies,  but  the  contingent  under  Exelmans  had  been 
provided  in  view  of  the  contemplated  passage  of  the 
Rhine  by  MacMahon's  forces. 

On  the  day  of  the  Marshal's  unfortunate  reverse 
Frossard's  troops  also  were  defeated  at  Forbach. 
Bazaine  was  then  at  Metz  or  in  its  vicinity  with  the 
bulk  of  the  French  army,  but  in  vain  did  Frossard 
telegraph  to  him  for  help.  Not  a  man  was  dispatched. 
It  must  be  said  that  great  jealousy  prevailed  among 
some  of  the  French  commanders  of  the  time.  When, 
directly  war  was  declared,  Generals  de  Failly  and 
Frossard  received  important  commands,  it  was  com- 
monly said  that  they  owed  their  appointments  solely 
to  the  fact  that  they  were  favourites  of  the  Emperor, 
and  in  order  that  each  might  have  an  opportunity  to 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  233 

win  the  baton  of  a  Marshal  of  France.  De  Failly  was 
undoubtedly  a  better  courtier  than  commander,  but 
Frossard  was  really  possessed  of  military  ability. 
Bazaine,  however,  arrogant,  churlish,  and  grasping, 
was  never  inclined  to  propitiate  the  fortunes  of  others. 
"  Let  hirn  win  his  baton  himself !  "  he  growled  when 
he  received  Frossard's  entreaty  for  assistance. 

The  Germans  pressed  onward.  They  occupied 
Forbach,  Haguenau,  Sarreguemines,  and  Saint- Avoid. 
There  was  extreme  agitation  in  Paris.  The  Republi- 
can party  demanded  that  the  Emperor  should  surren- 
der the  chief  command  to  Bazaine,  in  whom,  despite 
his  Mexican  record,  they  foolishly  placed  their  trust. 
Napoleon  had  to  give  way  and  Bazaine  assumed  sole 
control  of  the  so-called  Army  of  the  Rhine.  But 
matters  went  from  bad  to  worse.  On  August  9 
Phalsbourg  was  invested  and  the  little  fort  of  La 
Petite-Pierre,  now  called  Liitzelstein,  evacuated.  On 
the  10th  the  Germans  gathered  round  Strasburg,  and 
two  days  later  the  enemy  entered  Nancy,  which  apart 
from  its  virtually  untrained  National  Guards  had  no 
garrison  or  means  of  resistance  at  its  disposal.  Much 
was  made  of  this  incident  at  the  time.  The  capital 
of  Lorraine  had  surrendered  to  six  Uhlans,  it  was  said. 
It  is  true  that  a  few  of  the  Prussian  scouting  cavalry 
rode  into  the  town  to  inspect  it,  but  this  happened 
after  the  municipality,  left  defenceless  by  the  military 
authorities,  had  agreed  to  surrender  to  a  large  force 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  Such  odium  as 
attached  to  this  unfortunate  episode  should  have 
fallen  by  rights  on  the  army  leaders  and  not  on  the 
unlucky  inhabitants.  The  National  Guards  were 
quite  ready  to  do  their  duty,  but  Nancy,  then  abso- 
lutely an  open  town,  was  not  given  a  chance  to  prove 
her  mettle. 


234  THE   TRUE   STORY    OF 

At  this  time  the  Bavarian  forces  were  streaming 
through  the  undefended  passes  of  the  Vosges.  Mac- 
Mahon  had  fallen  hack  on  Chalons,  where  the  rem- 
nants of  the  troops  which  had  fought  under  him  at 
Worth  were  reinforced,  partly  by  regulars  but  also 
partly  by  raw  Mobile  Guards  on  whom  little  reliance 
could  be  placed.  Meanwhile,  a  great  struggle  began 
in  the  vicinity  of  Metz.  On  August  14,  16,  and  18 
were  fought  the  desperate  battles  on  which  the  respec- 
tive combatants  bestowed  the  diverse  names  of 
Borny,  Courcelles,  Panges,  Vionville,  Mars-la-Tour, 
Gravelotte,  Rezonville,  and  Saint-Privat.  In  this 
series  of  memorable  engagements  the  French,  under 
the  supreme  command  of  Bazaine,  were  opposed  both 
by  the  army  of  the  Crown  Prince  Frederick  of  Prussia 
and  that  of  his  cousin  Prince  Frederick  Charles. 
There  was  much  stubborn  fighting  with  heavy  losses 
on  both  sides,  and  French  and  Germans  alike  must 
be  credited  with  many  deeds  of  great  gallantry.  But 
Bazaine  was  either  a  much  less  competent  man  than 
was  generally  supposed,  or  else  was  wilfully  foolish 
and  jealous  of  certain  commanders  under  him. 

As  I  wrote  in  "  Republican  France,"  "  he  was 
largely  responsible  for  the  French  failure  at  Rezonville 
(otherwise  Gravelotte)  when  he  retreated  before 
inferior  forces  at  a  moment  when  he  might  have 
crushed  them — a  decisive  blunder  which  influenced 
the  wiiole  of  the  war.  Again,  at  Saint-Privat  he 
abandoned  Marshal  Canrobert  and  the  6th  Army  Corps 
to  the  300  guns  and  100,000  rifles  of  the  Germans, 
when,  at  a  word  from  him,  the  whole  French  Imperial 
Guard,  with  ten  regiments  of  cavalry  and  a  powerful 
artillery  force,  might  have  hastened  to  Canrobert 's 
support  and  modified  the  issue  of  the  battle."  In 
the  result  Bazaine's  army  was  driven  back  under 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  235 

Metz,  and  the  siege  of  that  stronghold  then  virtually 
began. 

At  a  council  held  at  Chalons,  where  Napoleon  III 
now  found  himself  with  MacMahon,  it  was  at  first 
decided  to  retreat  on  Paris  and  cover  the  capital,  but 
General  Count  de  Palikao,  Minister  of  War,  telegraphed 
that  if  Bazaine  were  abandoned  a  Revolution  would 
break  out  in  Paris.  Thereupon  it  was  resolved  to  try 
to  join  Bazaine's  army  by  going  at  first  northward 
and  then  descending  upon  Metz  from  that  direction. 
Thus  began  the  memorable  march  which  terminated 
at  Sedan.  I  have  been  perusing  recently  a  rare 
pamphlet  which  is  a  reprint  of  a  letter  addressed  in 
July  1871  to  the  "Moniteur  Universel "  by  General 
Count  Pajol,  who  was  senior  aide-de-camp  to  Napoleon 
at  the  time  of  the  Sedan  disaster.*  A  strictly  honour- 
able man,  evincing  no  extreme  partisan  feelings, 
Pajol  states  in  this  letter  that  the  Emperor  was  in  110 
wrise  responsible  for  the  march  on  Sedan.  He  did  not 
in  any  degree  weigh  on  MacMahon' s  plans,  he  took  no 
initiative  and  offered  no  opposition  to  any  of  the 
movements  of  the  army,  although  (so  Pajol  had  reason 
to  believe)  he  did  not  approve  of  all  of  them.  Having 
surrendered  the  chief  command,  however,  he  remained 
merely  a  spectator  of  what  ensued  until,  by  his  orders, 
the  white  flag  was  at  last  hoisted  at  Sedan.  He  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do,  says  Pajol,  "  with  the  strate- 
gical dispositions  which  took  the  army  to  Mouzon  and 
from  Mouzon  to  Sedan.  .  .  .  The  Marshal  (Mac- 
Mahon) was  free  to  move  whither  he  chose.  The 
Emperor  was  fatally  included  in  the  shipwreck  of  our 

*  "  Lettre  de  M.  le  General  Pajol  sur  la  Bataille  et  la  Capitulation  de 
Sedan,"  Paris,  Typographic  A.  Pougin,  1871.  The  general  was  the  son  of 
General  Claude  Pajol,  who  contributed  powerfully  to  the  success  of  the 
French  at  Montereau  in  February  1814 — the  last  but  not  the  least  of  the 
many  victories  achieved  by  the  genius  of  Napoleon  I. 


236  THE    TRUE    STORY    OP 

army  and  all  he  could  do  was  to  try  to  save  the  crew 
of  the  vessel  whose  captain  he  no  longer  was.  This  he 
did  by  giving  orders  at  three  o'clock  (Sedan,  Sep- 
tember 1)  to  hoist  the  white  flag.  Half  an  hour  later 
it  would  have  been  hoisted  by  the  order  of  one  or 
another  general,  but  meanwhile  thousands  more  of 
our  soldiers  would  have  been  killed."  The  position 
was,  indeed,  a  hopeless  one  at  that  moment. 

Pajol  pays  a  tribute  to  the  Emperor's  courage. 
He  rode  about  the  field  of  battle  exposed  during  five 
hours  to  a  cross-fire  of  shot  and  shell.  After  General  de 
Courson  and  Captain  deTrecesson  had  been  wounded 
near  him  he  ordered  most  of  his  escort  to  take  cover  and 
was  then  attended  only  by  Pajol,  equerry  Davilliers, 
Dr.  Baron  Corvisart,  and  Captain  d'Heudicourt,  an 
orderly  who  was  unfortunately  killed.  I  mention  those 
facts  because  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  imagine 
that  Napoleon  III  was  a  coward.  Moreover,  whilst  im- 
puting to  him  much  responsibility  for  the  war,  I  quite 
agree  that  he  was  not  responsible  for  the  fatal  march 
which  ended  so  disastrously.  That  desperate  step 
was  inspired  by  the  Council  of  Regency  in  Paris 
dominated  by  fear  of  a  Revolution. 

There  are  two  other  matters  which  I  may  mention 
here — one,  to  which  I  referred  in  my  first  chapter,  is 
that  the  French  might  have  saved  themselves  had 
they  chosen  to  violate  Belgian  neutrality.  However, 
neither  MacMahon  nor  Ducrot  nor  Wimpffen  (who 
in  turn  succeeded  the  Marshal  after  he  had  been 
wounded)  was  willing  to  do  so.  The  second  point  is 
that  the  French  were  caught  and  cornered  at  Sedan  by 
the  much  superior  marching  powers  of  the  Germans, 
who  in  order  to  intercept  their  antagonists  had  to 
cover  a  longer  distance  in  shorter  time..  In  those 
days,  be  it  noted,  the  French  infantry  wore  no  socks, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  237 

and  their  boots,  generally  inferior  to  those  of  the  Ger- 
mans, were  often  absolutely  vile.  If  an  infantryman 
is  to  give  of  his  best,  care  must  be  taken  of  his  feet,  and 
he  must  be  well  and  comfortably  shod. 

On  September  4,  three  days  after  the  disaster  of 
Sedan,  Paris  overthrew  the  imperial  regime,  and  the 
provinces  followed  the  capital's  example.  It  had 
become  virtually  impossible  to  relieve  Bazaine,  who 
was  invested  around  Metz  by  the  army  of  Prince 
Frederick  Charles,  whilst  that  of  the  Prussian  Crown 
Prince,  victorious  at  Sedan,  marched  towards  Paris, 
which  was  soon  to  be  besieged.  Besides  Metz  several 
other  strong  places  of  Alsace-Lorraine  were  now 
beleaguered.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  the 
Germans  gathered  around  Strasburg  on  August  10. 
Before  the  war  the  troops  there  had  been  commanded 
for  a  considerable  time  by  General  Ducrot,  who 
repeatedly  sent  important  warnings  to  the  Tuileries 
respecting  German  military  affairs,  and  wrho  afterwards 
played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  defence  of  Paris. 
At  Strasburg  he  had  been  succeeded  by  General 
Alexis  Uhrich,  a  native  of  Phalsbourg  and  in  1870 
sixty-eight  years  of  age.  The  forces  at  Uhrich's  dis- 
posal consisted  of  6000  infantry,  partly  fugitives  from 
Worth,  600  artillerymen,  100  naval  men,  a  few  batta- 
lions of  the  Mobile  Guard,  and  about  7000  National 
Guards  provided  by  the  town  itself.  There  were  no 
engineers  at  all.  The  total  number  of  the  defenders 
was  roughly  about  20,000.  At  first  the  besieging 
army  was  limited  to  a  force  of  Badeners  commanded 
by  the  Grand  Duchy's  War  Minister,  General  von 
Beyer.  He  fell  ill,  however,  and  was  replaced  by 
General  von  Werder,  who  had  a  very  large  body  of 
troops  under  him,  including  2200  engineers  and  7000 
artillerymen,  with  about  250  guns. 


238  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

The  Germans  marched  on  the  city  to  the  strains 
of  a  song  specially  composed  for  the  occasion,  and 
beginning : 

0  Strasburg,  0  Strasburg,  0  most  beauteous  city, 

Where  there  are  so  many  soldiers, 
And  where,  as  thou  canst  scarce  remember, 
My  glory  and  my  pride  have  been  imprisoned 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  ! 
Yes,  daughter  of  my  heart,  for  more  than  a  century 
Hast  thou  wasted  away  in  the  arms  of  a  Welsch  brigand  ! 

But  soon  shall  thy  grief  take  end  ! 
O  Strasburg,  0  Strasburg,  city  of  my  heart, 

Awake  from  thy  dismal  dreams  ! 
Thou  shalt  be  saved,  the  hour  has  sounded, 

Thy  brothers  haste  to  thee  in  crowds  ! 

We  shall  soon  see  what  treatment  these  loving 
brothers  reserved  for  the  city  of  their  hearts. 

On  August  13  Uhrich  made  an  ineffectual  attempt 
to  prevent  the  investment.  That  same  day  the  first 
shell  was  fired  at  the  town  and  fell  on  a  house  in  the 
part  known  as  the  Marais  Vert.  On  the  morrow 
Werder  arrived,  and  established  his  head-quarters  at 
Mundolsheim.  Under  him  were  Decker,  commanding 
the  artillery,  and  Mertens,  commanding  the  engineers. 
The  last  named  had  directed  the  operations  against 
the  Danish  entrenchments  of  Diippel  in  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  war.*  His  presence  before  Strasburg  indi- 
cated the  importance  which  was  attached  to  the 
taking  of  the  city,  which  Bismarck,  by  the  way,  called 
"  the  key  of  the  house." 

The  actual  bombardment  began  on  August  15, 
the  feast  of  the  Assumption  and  also  the  "  Fete  Na- 
poleon," whilst  Uhrich  and  others,  officers  and  func- 
tionaries, were  attending  high  mass  at  the  cathedral. 

*  Had  we  only  combined  with  France  to  support  Denmark  in  1864  Prussia 
would  never  have  possessed  the  Kiel  Canal,  which  was  originally  a  Danish 
scheme.  We  are  paying  a  heavy  price  for  the  sad  folly  of  our  Mid- Victorian 
policy.  Verily,  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  upon  the  children, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  239 

On  the  night  of  the  19th  the  enemy's  cannonade 
became  more  violent,  and  on  the  morrow  Uhrich 
responded  by  bombarding  Kehl  across  the  Rhine. 
This  the  Germans  stationed  at  Kehl  impudently  de- 
nounced as  a  crime,  the  town  being  an  open  one. 
However,  Uhrich' s  cannonade  did  comparatively  little 
damage,  the  inferiority  of  his  guns  to  those  possessed 
by  the  Germans  being  manifest.  On  August  24  the 
enemy's  bombardment  became  terrific  and  that  day, 
the  anniversary  of  the  massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew, 
the  city's  precious  library  was  set  on  fire.  A  younger 
generation  has  expressed  its  horror  at*  the  destruction 
of  the  library  of  Louvain,  to  which  some  writers  have 
referred  as  though  there  had  been  nothing  in  history 
like  it  since  the  loss  of  the  famous  Alexandrian  library. 
But  although  there  were  no  submarines,  nor  aircraft, 
nor  poisonous  gases  in  1870-71,  the  methods  of  the 
Germans  in  respect  to  other  matters  were  precisely 
such  as  one  has  witnessed  in  recent  times. 

Forty-seven  years  ago  British  people,  not  being 
directly  affected,  refused,  for  the  most  part,  to  believe 
in  the  many  reports  of  German  atrocities  in  France, 
and  afterwards  took  the  Germans  to  their  hearts  and 
allowed  them  the  free  run  of  our  country.  But 
survivors  of  the  Annee  terrible,  those  who  were  then 
in  France,  myself  included,  can  bear  solemn  testimony 
that  there  then  occurred  deeds  every  whit  as  foul  as 
any  that  have  disgraced  the  German  name  since  1914. 
To  me  the  wonder  has  always  been  that  our  people 
should  so  long  and  so  grossly  have  misunderstood  the 
German  character.  It  is  false  to  say  that  Prussianism 
has  been  the  growth  of  more  recent  years.  It  was 
already  rampant  under  the  present  Kaiser's  "  illus- 
trious grandfather,"  who  bequeathed  it  to  his  descen- 
(lants.  It  was  not  then,  perhaps,  quite  so  widespread 


240  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

throughout  Germany  as  it  is  to-day,  but  where  it 
existed  it  was  quite  as  unscrupulous,  quite  as  contemp- 
tuous of  every  common  principle  of  humanity.  Yet 
to  this  did  our  nation  long  close  its  eyes  ! 

The  Strasburg  library  contained  150,000  books 
and  1539  manuscripts,  among  which  were  many 
Greek  ones  of  the  greatest  value.  There  was  also  the 
Abbess  of  Saint-Odile's  "  Hortus  Deliciarum,"  written 
in  1180  and  embellished  with  Byzantine  designs  ;  there 
was  a  Carlo  vingian  missal  with  silver  lettering  on 
purple  parchment ;  there  was  the  missal  of  Louis  XII 
of  France ;  there  was  a  collection  of  the  Canonical 
Laws  of  788,  another  of  the  ancient  laws  and  regula- 
tions of  Strasburg,  a  great  number  of  documents 
relating  to  Gutenberg,  his  lawsuits,  and  the  early 
period  of  the  art  of  printing,  together  with  very  many 
choice  incunabula.  All  perished  in  the  flames,  and 
when  Werder  —  a  somewhat  singular  character  who 
combined  the  hypocrisy  of  a  pietist  with  the  affectation 
of  a  coxcomb — heard  of  it,  his  only  reply  was  :  "  The 
ruin  of  Strasburg  lies  on  her  own  head  !  Why  did  she 
not  surrender  ?  As  for  those  books,  why  were  they 
not  removed  to  cellars  ?  " 

At  the  same  time  as  the  library  was  destroyed,  the 
so-called  Aublette  building,  occupying  one  side  of  the 
Place  Kleber  and  containing  the  Museum  of  Paintings, 
was  set  on  fire.  No  attempt  to  extinguish  the  flames 
was  possible.  From  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening 
until  eight  the  following  morning,  projectiles  rained 
upon  the  devoted  city,  the  enemy  largely  concentrat- 
ing his  fire  upon  the  conflagrations  he  had  kindled. 
On  the  following  night  the  cathedral  was  bombarded, 
and  set  on  fire  by  means  of  incendiary  shells,  the  roof 
being  perforated  and  the  leaping  flames  licking  and 
damaging  the  lofty  tower.  Four  of  the  finest  old 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  241 

mansions  of  the  city  were  at  the  same  time  reduced  to 
ruins,  and  even  the  hospital  was  shelled. 

On  August  27  Uhrich  contrived  to  send  a  messenger 
to  the  Minister  of  War  in  Paris  to  say  that  Strasburg 
was  doomed  unless  assistance  could  be  sent.  No  help 
was  possible,  however,  At  night  on  the  29th  the 
enemy  opened  his  first  parallel.  On  September  1  the 
garrison  essayed  a  sortie  and  inflicted  somewhat  severe 
losses  on  the  Germans.  But  the  bombardment  con- 
tinued unabated,  again  and  again  igniting  fresh  con- 
flagrations and  battering  and  shattering  the  stone 
ornaments  of  the  unfortunate  cathedral.  The  enemy's 
second  parallel  was  opened  on  September  6,  and  his 
third  on  the  night  of  the  llth.  At  this  moment  the 
International  Red  Cross  Society  of  Geneva  sent  some 
delegates  to  the  German  general  asking  him,  in  the 
name  of  humanity,  to  allow  children,  women,  and  aged 
men  to  leave  the  city.  He  replied  that  women, 
children,  and  old  folk  constituted  an  element  of  weak- 
ness among  the  defenders  of  a  besieged  place,  and  that 
he  would  suffer  none  to  depart.  At  last,  however, 
after  repeated  requests  he  authorized  the  departure 
of  800  persons,  the  town  then  containing,  with  its 
garrison,  82,000  ! 

News  of  the  fall  of  the  Empire  had  reached  Stras- 
burg, and  the  Imperial  Prefect,  Baron  Pron,  had  been 
deposed.  Kiiss,  the  energetic  and  popular  Mayor, 
did  his  utmost  to  succour  the  unfortunate  townsfolk, 
repeatedly  risking  his  life  whilst  going  on  his  many 
errands  of  mercy.  On  September  20,  and  under  very 
dramatic  circumstances,  a  new  official  appeared  upon 
the  scene,  this  being  Edmond  Valentin,  whom  the 
National  Defence  Government  had  appointed  Prefect 
in  the  place  of  Baron  Pron.  Son  of  a  hospital  inspec- 
tor and  born  at  Strasburg  in  1823,  Valentin  had  origi- 


242  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

nally  been  an  officer  in  the  foot  Chasseurs,  or  light 
infantry,  and  had  become  a  deputy  at  the  time  of  the 
Second  Republic.  When  war  broke  out  in  1870  he  was 
acting  as  a  professor  at  the  Royal  Military  Academy  of 
Woolwich.  His  services  were  declined  by  the  Im- 
perial Government  but  the  National  Defence  at  once 
accepted  them,  whereupon,  starting  for  Strasburg,  he 
managed  to  penetrate  the  enemy's  lines  at  Barr  on 
September  8.  Failing  to  get  through  the  advanced 
posts  he  made  for  the  Rhone  and  Rhine  Canal,  but 
was  arrested  on  the  10th  by  a  German  reconnoitring 
party,  who  kept  him  a  prisoner  for  fifteen  hours.  He 
was  released,  however,  as  an  American  passport  had 
been  provided  him,  and  his  knowledge  of  our  language 
enabled  him  to  pass  himself  off  as  a  citizen  of  the 
U.S.A.  At  last  he  got  to  Marten  in  front  of  Strasburg 
citadel,  and  was  about  to  swim  the  canal  when  a 
German  settler  denounced  him  as  a  "  suspect  "  and  he 
was  again  arrested  and  carried  to  Kehl.  On  being 
released  he  was  ordered  to  quit  the  zone  of  operations 
within  twelve  hours,  and  thereupon  followed  the  Rhine 
as  far  as  Maximilianau,  whence,  by  way  of  Landau, 
he  contrived  to  reach  Wissembourg. 

Some  of  his  Alsatian  compatriots  befriended  him, 
and  having  been  suitably  disguised  he  again  repaired 
to  the  German  lines.  He  spent  two  days  at  Schillig- 
heim  (called  by  the  Alsatians  Schillick)  a  village  close 
to  Strasburg,  and  was  there  hidden  by  friends  in  the 
very  house  where  Werder  and  his  staff  took  their 
meals.  Though  fellow-Alsatians  often  recognized 
Valentin  none  betrayed  him,  but  on  the  contrary  they 
all  endeavoured  to  assist  him  in  his  enterprise.  At 
last,  on  the  evening  of  September  19,  he  hid  himself 
between  two  German  batteries,  and  crawled  on  his 
hands  and  knees  through  sundry  maize  and  potato 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  248 

fields  until  at  the  expiration  of  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  he  reached  the  bank  of  the  Aar.  There  he  was 
observed  both  by  the  besiegers  and  the  besieged,  who 
both  opened  fire  upon  him.  He  plunged  into  the 
water,  but  on  reaching  a  swamp  was  forced  to  go  back 
and  swim  again  until  he  came  to  a  damaged  covered 
way.  Several  times  he  fell  into  craters  caused  by  the 
bombardment,  but  he  eventually  reached  the  moat  of 
Lunette  57,  where  for  half  an  hour  he  tried  to  attract 
the  notice  of  some  sentinel.  He  could  see  nobody, 
however,  and,  although  his  teeth  were  chattering  with 
the  cold,  he  again  took  to  the  water  until  perceiving 
some  men  on  the  rampart  he  called  to  them  des- 
perately :  "  France  !  France  !  " 

Half  a  dozen  shots  replied  to  him,  but  a  corporal 
of  the  78th  of  the  Line,  named  Fauchard,  seeing  that 
he  was  alone,  stopped  the  firing  and  took  him  prisoner. 
He  asked  to  be  conducted  to  Uhrich,  but  it  was  too 
late  to  do  so  and  he  was  therefore  shut  up  for  the  night 
in  a  pavilion  in  the  Lippsgarten.  In  the  morning, 
at  six  o'clock,  he  was  brought  before  the  Commander, 
to  whom  he  at  once  made  himself  known,  taking  from 
his  sleeve,  in  which  it  had  been  sewn,  the  decree, 
signed  by  Gambetta,  appointing  him  Prefect  of  the 
department.  Unfortunately  Valentin's  heroism  and 
devotion  were  of  no  avail.  Eight  days  later  Stras- 
burg  capitulated,  and  the  Germans  outrageously 
punished  him  for  his  alleged  impudence  in  daring  to 
pass  through  their  lines. 

On  September  10  the  bombardment  had  fired  and 
destroyed  the  theatre  of  Strasburg.  By  the  26th 
several  of  the  advanced  works  were  in  the  enemy's 
possession,  there  were  two  breaches  in  the  bastions, 
and  virtually  every  building  on  the  west  side  of  the 
town  was  in  ruins.  Under  these  circumstances  a 


244  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

Council  of  War  was  held  on  the  27th,  and  decided  that 
everything  had  been  done  that  military  honour 
demanded,  and  that  although  the  enemy  had  not  yet 
attempted  an  assault,  it  was  necessary  to  surrender. 
The  Germans  insisted  that  the  rank  and  file— except- 
ing the  National  Guards,  who  were  merely  to  be 
disarmed — should  be  prisoners  of  war,  but  offered  to 
allow  Uhrich  and  the  other  officers  to  retire  into 
France  on  condition  that  they  would  not  serve  again 
during  the  war.  Seventy-five  officers  preferred,  how- 
ever, to  share  the  captivity  of  their  men.  The  roll 
of  the  capitulation  includes  451  officers,  17,111  men 
(including  the  National  Guards),  plus  2100  sick  and 
wounded,  1843  horses,  and  1070  pieces  of  artillery, 
most  of  which  were  quite  obsolete.  There  were  also 
stores  of  munitions,  clothing,  and  camping  materiel, 
and  the  Germans  also  appropriated  over  £400,000 
found  at  the  local  branch  of  the  Bank  of  France  as 
well  as  a  quantity  of  silver  at  the  Mint,  with  which 
they  struck  one-franc,  two-franc,  and  five-franc  pieces 
stamped  with  the  effigy  of  the  ex- sovereign  Napoleon 
III !  Yet  even  this  was  not  sufficient  for  German 
greed.  The  city  was  fined  for  its  resistance,  every 
householder  whose  home  had  not  been  destroyed 
having  to  pay  a  sum  of  money  averaging  about  £30  a 
head  !  One  reason  given  for  this  abominable  pro- 
ceeding was  the  municipality's  staunch  refusal  to 
send  an  address  of  congratulation  to  the  King  of 
Prussia  on  the  success  of  his  valiant  troops  ! 

The  Germans  greeted  the  hoisting  of  the  white 
flag  with  loud  hurrahs.  Their  dear  lost  brothers 
were  delivered !  Poor  lost  brothers,  bombed, 
slaughtered,  and  despoiled !  Werder  exhibited  his 
piety  by  going  in  state  first  to  offer  up  a  thanksgiving 
at  the  Catholic  cathedral  and  then  another  at  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  245 

Protestant  church  of  Saint  Thomas.  Meanwhile, 
Edmond  Valentin  was  arrested  and  carried  off  to  the 
fortress  of  Ehrenbreitstein,  where  he  remained  in  close 
durance  until  the  conclusion  of  peace.  Before  that 
occurred  every  adult  inhabitant  of  Strasburg  was 
fined  £l  for  daring  to  elect  to  the  French  National 
Assembly  deputies  opposed  to  the  cession  of  Alsace  to 
Germany. 

In  1872  a  French  Court  of  Inquiry  presided  over 
by  old  Marshal  Baragney  d'Hilliers  reported  un- 
favourably on  Uhrich's  defence  and  capitulation. 
The  chief  grounds  for  the  court's  censure  were 
dereliction  of  duty  in  failing  to  improve  the  for- 
tifications by  means  of  stockades  for  which  there 
was  ample  material,  in  proposing  surrender  to  the 
Council  of  Defence,  in  capitulating  before  assault  had 
taken  place,  in  omitting  to  burn  the  regimental 
colours,  spike  the  guns,  and  destroy  the  munitions, 
in  not  asking  for  the  honours  of  war  and  permission 
for  the  officers  to  retain  their  swords,  and  the  rank  and 
file  their  private  effects.  Uhrich  was  also  blamed  for 
giving  his  parole  and  allowing  his  officers  to  give 
theirs.  That  judgment  was  in  accordance  with  the 
French  Army  Regulations,  but  some  may  consider  it 
unduly  severe.  The  town  had  stood  a  siege  and  bom- 
bardment of  more  than  forty  days.  The  inhabitants 
had  endured  great  sufferings.  Some  8000  of  them 
were  without  shelter,  hundreds  of  houses  having  been 
destroyed.  Further,  300  civilians  had  been  killed  and 
1700  injured  by  the  bombardment.  Including  the 
military,  the  total  number  of  deaths  was  961,  and  of 
injuries  and  cases  of  severe  illness,  3800.  A  fairly 
impartial  German  writer  of  the  time,  Colonel  Borb- 
staedt,  held  that  the  defence  was  not  brilliant,  for  it 
was  deficient  in  initiative  ;  but  he  considered  that 


246  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

surrender  without  waiting  for  assault  was  justified 
owing  to  the  great  numerical  superiority  of  the 
German  forces,  and  the  absolute  impossibility  of 
successfully  defending  at  least  one  of  the  breaches 
in  the  bastions. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  the  defence  offered  by  some 
of  the  other  Alsatian  fortresses.  Phalsbourg,  having 
been  invested  on  August  9,  was  bombarded  on  the 
14th,  after  which  most  of  the  besiegers  departed, 
leaving  for  a  while  only  two  battalions  of  Landwehr 
near  the  town.  The  garrison  was  commanded  by 
Major  Taillant  and  consisted  of  about  1900  men 
(including  200  wounded),  who  had  figured  in  the  defeat 
of  Worth.  There  were  sixty-seven  guns  on  the 
fortifications.  The  inhabitants  were  full  of  patriotic 
ardour  and  did  their  utmost  to  assist  the  military. 
The  enemy  having  been  strongly  reinforced,  the  bom- 
bardment began  afresh  on  August  31  and  a  good  deal 
of  the  little  town  was  absolutely  shattered  by  it.  In 
the  middle  of  September  the  cannonade  became 
terrific,  but  the  garrison  still  made  a  stout  resistance. 
At  last  the  siege  turned  into  a  blockade,  with  only 
intermittent  bombardment,  as  had  been  the  case  in 
1814,*  when  Phalsbourg  was  beleaguered  from  January 
6  to  April  16.  In  1870  its  resistance  lasted  for  four 
months,  and  it  then  succumbed  solely  because  not  a 
scrap  of  food  remained  for  the  garrison  or  the  inhabi- 
tants or  a  single  shell  for  the  defence.  This  birthplace 

*  The  siege  of  1814  formed  the  subject  of  Erckmann-Chatrian's  story 
"  Le  Blocus  " — a  work  which,  whilst  including  several  patriotic  incidents, 
was  largely  inspired  by  the  author's  dislike  of  Napoleonism  and  militarism. 
The  story  is  supposed  to  be  told  by  an  old  Alsatian  Jew,  who,  amidst  his 
perpetual  fears,  occasionally  does  a  brave  thing,  and  atones  in  some  measure 
for  his  habitual  covetousness  by  several  acts  of  kindness  and  generosity. 
The  commingling  of  patriotism  and  hatred  of  war,  which  these  authors 
displayed  in  so  many  of  their  stories,  appears  to  have  been  largely  prompted 
by  their  antagonism  to  the  regime  of  Napoleon  III, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  247 

of  so  many  valiant  French  generals  entered  into  no 
capitulation.  When  Commandant  Taillant  found  he 
could  hold  out  no  longer,  he  spiked  his  guns,  had 
their  carriages  sawn  into  pieces,  burnt  his  colours, 
ordered  every  one  of  the  12,000  rifles  in  his  possession 
to  be  broken,  poured  water  on  his  remaining  powder, 
and  finally,  on  December  12,  sent  word  to  the  German 
commander  that  the  gates  of  Phalsbourg  were  open. 
Three -fourths  of  the  town  were  in  ruins. 

The  enemy  came  down  upon  Colmar  towards  the 
middle  of  September.  The  only  forces  there  were 
some  Mobile  Guards  belonging  to  Paris  and  Lyons, 
and  some  local  National  Guards.  These  men  put  up  a 
gallant  fight  at  the  bridge  of  Horburg,  but  as  they  had 
not  a  single  piece  of  artillery  with  them  they  had  to 
fall  back  in  the  direction  of  the  Vosgcs.  With  them 
went  an  Alsatian  heroine,  Antoinette  Lix,  a  post- 
mistress, who,  trained  by  her  father,  an  old  soldier  of 
Napoleon's,  had  fought  as  a  man  in  the  last  great 
Polish  insurrection,  and  who,  after  the  retreat  from 
Colmar,  became  a  franc-tireur  and  ultimately  served 
with  the  Garibaldians.  Having  occupied  Colmar  on 
September  14,  the  Germans  descended  upon  Mulhouse, 
which  they  also  entered.  But  Schlestadt  was  not 
disposed  to  surrender.  It  had  122  guns  (none,  how- 
ever, rifled)  and  a  garrison  composed  of  half  a  battery 
of  regular  artillery,  four  batteries  of  the  Mobile  Guard 
artillery,  1200  men  of  that  same  guard,  and  a  detach- 
ment of  280  Lancers,  the  whole  being  under  the  orders 
of  Commandant  de  Reinach,  a  member  of  a  wrell-known 
Alsatian  family.  On  October  10  General  von  Schme- 
ling,  who  commanded  the  besiegers,  demanded  a 
surrender,  which  was  refused.  The  town  was  then 
subjected  to  a  severe  bombardment,  and  by  the  23rd 
the  whole  of  its  south-western  portion  was  in  flames. 


248  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

On  the  morrow  Reinach  was  constrained  by  circum- 
stances to  capitulate.  Schmeling  next  invested  Neuf- 
Brisach,  where  Lieut. -Colonel  de  Kerhor,  a  Breton 
judging  by  his  name,  had  some  5000  men,  including 
1000  regulars,  with  thirty-eight  rifled  guns  and  others. 
On  his  refusal  to  surrender,  the  enemy  bombarded  him 
from  the  vicinity  of  Alt-Breisach  across  the  Rhine, 
and  when  Kerhor  retaliated  by  cannonading  the  Ger- 
man town,  Schmeling  had  the  audacity  to  protest, 
declaring  that  Alt-Breisach  was  an  open  town  and 
that,  if  it  were  again  bombarded,  he  would  render 
Kerhor  personally  responsible  for  the  outrage  !  Ker- 
hor was  weak  enough  to  act  on  Schmeling' s  injunction, 
and  after  the  destruction  of  Fort  Mortier,  one  of  his 
advanced  works,  he  capitulated  (November  10). 
Before  doing  so  he  at  least  rendered  his  guns  useless, 
and  effectually  damped  his  powder. 

If  we  leave  Belfort  aside  for  a  little  while,  this  was 
the  last  resistance  offered  by  a  fortress  in  Upper 
Alsace,  but  the  Vosges  were  swarming  with  francs- 
tireurs,  and  at  Bitche  in  Northern  or  Lower  Alsace, 
and  in  various  parts  of  Lorraine  a  determined  struggle 
still  continued.  The  defence  of  Bitche,  though  far 
less  widely  known  than  that  of  Belfort,  was  a  very 
gallant  one.  Indeed  this  little  stronghold  held  out 
even  longer  than  Belfort.  When  General  de  Failly 
quitted  it  after  the  battle  of  Worth,  he  left  considerable 
provisions  behind  him.  The  original  garrison  was  one 
of  only  800  men,  who  were  increased  to  2500  by  the 
arrival  of  fugitives  from  Worth.  The  governor  was 
Lieut. -Colonel  Tessier,  and  the  defences  mounted 
fifty-eight  guns.  At  the  outset,  when  the  municipal 
council  assembled,  the  mayor,  a  man  of  Bavarian 
origin  named  Lauthenslager,  wished  to  surrender, 
but  was  overruled  and  dismissed  by  his  colleagues. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  249 

He  went  over  to  the  enemy,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  and  after  the  annexation  the  Germans,  the 
better  to  oppress  their  dear  delivered  brethren,  re- 
appointed  him  to  the  mayoralty.  However,  although 
the  enemy  added  several  large  siege  guns  to  his  artillery 
and  by  September  22  half  Bitche  had  been  destroyed, 
there  was  still  no  surrender.  Thus  a  blockade  ensued, 
and  lasted  until  March  23,  1871,  that  is,  for  twenty- 
two  days  subsequent  to  the  ratification  of  the  prelimi- 
naries of  peace  by  the  French  National  Assembly  at 
Bordeaux,  and  even  then  it  was  only  on  express  orders 
from  their  own  Government  that  Tessier  and  his  men 
evacuated  Bitche.  The  besieging  force  was  one  of 
Bavarians.  Tessier  contemptuously  refused  their 
offer  of  the  honours  of  war,  and  declared  that  he  would 
only  depart  provided  that  the  enemy  kept  out  of  sight 
and  did  not  enter  until  the  last  French  soldier  had  left. 
The  Germans,  unwillingly  rendering  homage  to  such 
stalwartness,  agreed  to  those  stipulations,  and  only 
then,  with  their  colours  flying,  their  band  playing, 
their  fourteen  field-guns  and  their  train  of  munitions, 
did  Tessier  and  his  gallant  troops  march  away  from 
the  little  fortress  which  the  Germans  had  failed  to 
take  but  which  was,  unhappily,  to  be  surrendered  to 
them  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  Episodes, 
such  as  that  of  the  resistance  of  Bitche,  help  to  con- 
sole one  for  much  that  happened  during  the  Franco- 
German  War.* 

Take  also  the  case  of  little  Longwy,  known  in 
Louis  XIV's  time  as  the  Iron  Gate  of  France,  but  now- 
adays a  place  of  small  importance.  Defended  by 
rather  more  than  4000  men,  with  a  couple  of  hundred 
guns,  it  held  out  until  Janaury  25,  1871 — surrendering 

*  Tessier  was  afterwards  promoted  and  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
fort  of  Vincennes,  near  Paris. 


250  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

only  three  days  before  Paris  capitulated,  and  it  was 
in  ruins  when  the  Germans  entered.  Montmedy  was, 
for  a  time,  neglected  by  the  enemy,  not  being  abso- 
lutely invested  until  the  first  fortnight  in  November, 
when,  without  warning,  it  was  suddenly  bombarded. 
About  a  month  later  (December  14)  it  had  to  surrender. 
Thionville,  north  of  Metz  and  known  nowadays  by  the 
silly  German  name  of  Diedenhof  en,  was  also  bombarded 
without  warning,  and  at  one  time  subjected  to  a  rain 
of  incendiary  bombs,  each  containing  about  a  gallon 
of  inflammable  liquid,  for  fifty-four  consecutive  hours. 
The  Germans  were  asked  to  allow  the  women  and 
children  to  depart.  Not  they  !  So  the  massacre  of 
the  innocents  continued.  All  of  that,  of  course,  was 
long  ago,  but  the  thought  of  it  still  makes  my  blood 
boil.  Our  German  "  friends  "  of  the  later  seventies, 
the  eighties,  the  nineties,  and  the  earlier  years  of  the 
twentieth  century  have  done  little  worse  even  during 
the  present  war.  Like  father,  like  son :  fiendish- 
ness  has  always  lurked  in  the  German  blood. 

Let  me  now  mention  Verdun,  which  in  1870  de- 
cisively wiped  away  the  stigma  attaching  to  its 
lamentable  surrender  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Invested  on  August  24,  it  was  savagely  bombarded  by 
the  Germans  in  mid-October,  and  afterwards  inter- 
mittently for  some  weeks.  Baron  Guerin  de  Walders- 
bach  commanded  the  defenders,  who  on  October  28 
made  a  vigorous  sortie  in  which  they  destroyed 
several  of  the  German  batteries.  Early  in  the  follow- 
ing month,  howrever,  news  arrived  that  Bazaine  had 
surrendered  Metz  on  October  27.  Discouragement 
then  overtook  the  defenders  of  Verdun.  Nevertheless 
they  were  able  to  demand  honourable  conditions.  The 
regular  troops  were  to  be  prisoners  of  war,  but  they 
were  to  retain  their  knapsacks  and  private  effects.  The 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  251 

Mobile  Guards,  born  at  Verdun,  were  to  go  free,  the 
Gendarmes  also,  and  to  retain  their  horses.  No  war 
contribution  or  indemnity  was  to  be  levied  on  the 
town.  The  enemy  troops  were  not  to  be  billeted  on 
the  inhabitants,  but  lodged  in  the  barracks  and  other 
military  buildings.  The  town  itself  and  all  the  war 
materiel  which  it  contained  were  to  be  restored  to 
France  at  the  conclusion  of  peace.  Those  conditions 
having  been  accepted  by  the  Germans,  they  entered 
Verdun  on  November  9. 

We  will  now  turn  to  Toul,  wrhose  defence  of  about 
five  weeks'  duration  was  a  kind  of  revanche  for  the 
prompt  surrender  of  Nancy,  the  latter 's  young  men 
having  thrown  themselves  into  this  fortress  directly 
the  defence  of  their  native  city  was  abandoned.  The 
commander  of  the  garrison  was  a  cavalry  major  (chef 
d'escadron)  bearing  the  Alsatian  name  of  Huck.  He 
had  with  him  altogether  2296  men,  including  130  of 
the  4th  Regiment  of  Cuirassiers  (whose  depot  was 
at  Toul,  and  to  which  Huck  himself  belonged),  25 
artillerymen,  500  linesmen,  and  30  gendarmes,  the 
remainder  being  Gardes  Mobiles  of  the  department, 
untrained,  undisciplined,  and  mostly  without  uni- 
forms. There  were  about  200  pieces  of  artillery. 
It  is  recorded  that  the  mayor  and  the  municipal 
council  wished  to  surrender,  but  were  overruled. 
Having  so  few  trained  troops  Huck  was  obliged  to 
abandon  some  outer  works,  a  sign  of  weakness  which 
encouraged  the  enemy  to  attempt  an  assault  on 
August  16.  This  was  vigorously  repulsed,  however, 
and  a  siege  on  the  old  lines  ensued.  After  bombard- 
ment came  a  second  assault  which  also  was  defeated, 
and  the  Government  of  National  Defence  in  Paris, 
on  hearing  of  this  stout  resistance,  decreed  :  "  The 
town  of  Toul  has  deserved  well  of  the  country," 


252  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

During  the  latter  part  of  September  several  large 
siege  guns  were  brought  to  bear  on  three  sides  of 
the  town,  and  the  ensuing  destruction  was  so  great 
that  on  the  23rd  Huck  put  up  the  white  flag.  The 
Germans  were  particularly  furious  with  the  defenders 
on  account  of  their  praiseworthy  achievement  in 
intercepting  the  direct  road  to  Paris  during  five 
weeks.  Nevertheless,  after  the  war,  a  Court  of 
Inquiry  blamed  Huck  for  having  surrendered  before 
the  fortifications  were  breached,  and  for  having 
failed  to  destroy  his  guns  and  his  munitions.  At 
the  same  time  it  praised  him  for  having  prolonged 
the  resistance  in  spite  of  the  urgent  requests  of  the 
municipality  and  the  enemy's  insidious  offers. 

According  to  the  army  regulations  of  France,  and 
those  of  most  other  countries,  there  has  to  be  an 
inquiry  into  every  capitulation  that  takes  place.  It 
was  this  circumstance  which  led  to  the  court-martial- 
ling  of  Bazaine.  Owing  to  the  unrest  that  prevailed 
in  France  after  the  war,  the  division  of  the  electorate 
into  sharply  antagonistic  parties,  the  large  number 
of  Bonapartist  officers'  still  in  the  service,  and  the 
recent  tragic  rebellion  of  the  Paris  Commune,  Thiers 
did  not  wish  to  put  Bazaine  on  his  trial,  for  fear  lest 
the  stirring  up  of  a  prodigious  quantity  of  mud 
should  lead  to  another  national  convulsion.  But  the 
President's  hand  was  forced  by  the  military  regula- 
tions, and  thus  when,  in  August  1872,  the  Court  of 
Inquiry,  presided  over  by  old  one-eyed  Marshal 
Baraguey  d'Hilliers,  a  relic  of  Napoleon's  days, 
reported  that  Bazaine  had  "  caused  the  loss  of  an 
army  of  150,000  men  and  the  stronghold  of  Metz, 
that  the  entire  responsibility  was  his,  that  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  he  had  not  done  what  military  duty 
prescribed,  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  had  held  with 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  253 

the  enemy  an  intercourse  unexampled  in  history, 
and  that  he  had  delivered  to  the  enemy  the  colours 
which  he  ought  to  have  destroyed,  thereby  inflicting 
a  crowning  humiliation  on  brave  men  whose  honour  it 
was  his  duty  to  defend  " — when,  I  say,  those  findings 
had  been  recorded,  the  Marshal's  trial  could  not 
be  prevented.  Moreover,  he  himself  was  constrained 
by  those  findings  to  apply  for  a  court  martial. 

It  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to  give  in  the  pages 
remaining  at  my  disposal  a  full  account  of  what 
happened  at  Metz  after  Bazaine  and  his  forces  were 
invested  there.  Many  books  have  been  written  on 
the  subject,  one  of  the  latest  and  best  (issued  during 
the  present  war)  being  "  Metz  en  1870,"  by  M. 
Felicien  Champsaur.  Here  I  have  only  enough  space 
to  mention  a  few  matters  connected  with  Bazaine' s 
betrayal  of  his  country's  highest  interests.  A  few 
sorties  certainly  took  place,  including  some  provision- 
ing raids,  but  no  real  military  effort  commensurate 
with  the  situation  was  made.  Moreover,  Bazaine 
did  not  attempt  to  avail  himself  of  certain  means  of 
communication  with  the  rest  of  France  which  were 
known  to  exist.  He  preferred  to  correspond  secretly 
with  Prince  Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia,  and  even 
to  ask  him  for  information,  a  proceeding  absolutely 
forbidden  by  the  provisions  of  the  Military  Code. 
The  Marshal  was  largely  influenced  by  a  scoundrel 
named  Regnier,  whom  the  Germans  allowed  to  pass 
through  their  lines,  and  who  falsely  pretended  to  be 
an  authorized  emissary  from  the  Empress  Eugenie. 
After  a  time  Bazaine  sent  General  Boyer  to  the 
German  head-quarters  at  Versailles  to  negotiate  with 
Bismarck  on  his  behalf.  Boyer,  on  returning  to 
Metz,  repeated  a  pack  of  German  lies  respecting  the 
state  of  France  and  its  inability  to  continue  the  war, 


254  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

though  he  well  knew  what  great  efforts  the  National 
Defence  was  making.  In  corresponding  with  Frede- 
rick Charles,  Bazaine  frequently  referred  to  his  even- 
tual "  surrender  "  ;  he  confided  to  Regnier,  whom  he 
ought  to  have  distrusted,  that  he  had  only  sufficient 
provisions  to  last  until  mid-October ;  he  refused  to 
attempt  a  coup  de  main  on  Thionville,  which  was 
only  a  few  miles  distant  and  was  still  holding  out  in 
order  to  prevent  the  great  quantities  of  provisions 
stored  there  from  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands. 
Further,  Bazaine  persistently  concealed  facts  or 
falsified  them  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow- 
marshals,  Canrobert  and  Leboeuf,  and  the  other 
principal  commanders  who  were  with  him  at  Metz ; 
and,  briefly,  he  left  undone  many  things  which 
military  honour  required  him  to  do,  and  did  others 
which  military  honour  and  duty  forbade.  He  sacrificed 
his  country's  interests  to  his  personal  ambition,  wish- 
ing to  induce  the  Germans  to  allow  him  and  his 
troops  to  march  out  of  Metz  and  restore  the  fallen 
Empire,  with,  however,  the  young  Imperial  Prince 
on  the  throne,  and  he,  Bazaine,  as  High  Constable 
and  Protector  of  France  !  That  is  the  explanation 
of  his  treachery.  He  was  not  bribed.  Ambition 
turned  him  from  the  path  of  duty. 

But  the  Germans  played  with  him,  and  when 
his  provisions  were  exhausted  he  was  constrained  to 
surrender  at  discretion — giving  up  to  the  enemy  the 
strongest  fortress  of  France  and  an  army  of  170,000 
men  (including  sick  and  wounded),  with  53  eagles,* 
1665  guns,  278,280  rifles  and  muskets,  22,984,000 

*  In  defiance  of  the  Marshal's  orders  many  colours  \rere  burnt  by  indignant 
officers.  Like  Kiiss  at  Strasburg,  Mar6chal,  the  Mayor  of  Metz,  did  much 
to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  civilian  population.  Both  of  these  devoted 
men  died  virtually  of  grief  not  long  after  the  war. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  255 

cartridges,  3,239,225  projectiles,  and  412,734  tons  of 
powder.  Bazaine's  trial  began  on  October  6  and 
ended  on  December  10,  1873.  He  was  convicted  and 
sentenced  to  death,  but  the  capital  penalty  was 
altered  by  his  old  comrade  MacMahon,  who  had  become 
President  of  the  Republic,  to  one  of  imprisonment 
for  life.  With  the  help  of  his  wife,  however,  and  the 
connivance  of  sundry  officials,  Bazaine  escaped  from 
the  fort  of  the  He  Sainte-Marguerite,  off  the  coast  of 
Provence,  in  August  1874.  He  afterwards  led  a 
miserable  life  in  Spain,  where  he  died  in  1888. 

In  striking  contrast  with  the  defence  of  Metz  was 
that  of  the  little  fortress  of  Belfort.  Standing  on  an 
eminence  in  a  gap  between  the  Vosges  and  the  Jura 
Mountains,  at  the  edge,  as  it  were,  of  the  Alsatian 
alluvial  plain,  and  at  a  point  where  the  Alsatian, 
Lorrainer,  and  Jurassian  races  may  be  said  to  mingle, 
Belfort  once  belonged  to  the  Counts  of  Montbeliard, 
who  erected  its  original  castle  in  the  twelfth  century. 
It  passed  to  the  Counts  of  Ferrette,  and  through  them 
to  the  House  of  Austria,  from  which  it  was  wrested 
by  the  French  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Bestowed 
as  an  appanage  on  Mazarin  the  lordship  remained  in 
the  possession  of  his  heirs  until  they  became  extinct. 
Inhabited  in  1840  by  about  6000  people,  and  in  1870 
by  about  8500,  the  town  now  has  a  population 
of  nearly  40,000 — many  Alsatians  having  migrated 
thither  in  order  to  escape  German  rule.  The  sur- 
rounding district,  which  since  1871  has  formed  the 
so-called  Territoire  de  Belfort,  returning  one  senator 
and  two  deputies  to  the  French  Legislature,  comprises 
106  communes,  and,  inclusive  of  Belfort  itself,  there 
were  at  the  last  census  more  than  100,000  inhabitants. 
Owing  to  the  lack  of  coal  and  minerals  the  region 
was  formerly  of  an  almost  exclusively  agricultural 


256  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

character,  but  since  the  Franco-German  War  numerous 
textile  works,  rope-walks,  clock-  and  watch-making 
establishments,  distilleries,  forges,  machine  and  wire 
works  have  sprung  up  there,  all  testifying  to  Alsatian 
industry  and  enterprise. 

Besieged  in  1813-14  by  Austrian  and  Bavarian 
forces,  Belfort,  defended  by  Major  Legrand  and 
3000  men,  did  not  surrender  until  after  Napoleon's 
abdication  at  Fontainebleau.  In  the  following  year, 
when  the  famous  General  Lecourbe  commanded  the 
garrison,  it  put  up  an  equally  able  defence  against 
the  Allies.  In  1870  the  town  was  commanded  by  an 
engineer  chef  de  bataillon,  later  Colonel,  Denfert-Roche- 
reau,  a  native  of  Saint-Maixent,  famous  for  its  military 
school.  At  that  time  Belfort,  although  fortified,  was 
by  no  means  the  strong  place  which  it  has  since 
become,  but  Denfert-Rochereau's  technical  knowledge 
enabled  him  to  improvise  additional  defences,  particu- 
larly as  the  enemy  did  not  advance  upon  this  corner 
of  Alsace  until  the  end  of  October.  The  garrison 
consisted  of  17,000  men,  of  whom  3500  were  regulars 
of  the  45th  and  84th  Regiments  of  the  Line.  There 
were  a  few  artillerymen,  but  the  bulk  of  the  defenders 
belonged  to  the  Mobile  Guard,  some  of  them  being 
Alsatians  and  Vosgians,  others  coming  from  the 
Garonne  country,  others  from  the  Lyonnais  and 
adjacent  districts.  There  were  also  some  mobilized 
National  Guards,  and  a  detachment  of  douaniers 
(customs  officers)  from  the  Jura  region.  The  defenders 
had  374  guns,  with  a  stock  of  75,000  shells  and  80,000 
round  shot,  and  enough  fresh  or  salt  meat  and  flour 
to  last  them  for  145  days.  Numerous  departures 
had  reduced  the  civilian  population  to  4000,  to  feed 
whom  the  municipality  had  sufficient  meat  for  142 
days.  The  siege  began  on  November  3  and  lasted 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  257 

for  103  days,  73  of  which  were  days  of  bombardment, 
during  which  the  Germans  vainly  rained  98,000  shells 
on  the  gallant  little  stronghold.  No  such  bombard- 
ment had  been  previously  recorded  in  history. 

The  investing  army  was  commanded  by  General  von 
Treskow,  a  typical  German  officer.  When  (as  in  the 
case  of  Strasburg)  the  Swiss  asked  him  to  allow  the 
departure  of  the  women  and  children  still  remaining 
in  the  town,  offering  to  send  them  to  Porrentruy,  he 
peremptorily  refused  the  application,  declaring  that 
the  women  of  Belfort  were  perfect  fiends  who  cut 
off  the  noses,  tore  off  the  ears,  and  put  out  the  eyes 
of  all  German  prisoners  who  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  garrison.  When  the  Swiss  delegates  requested 
permission  to  enter  the  town  to  inquire  into  that 
monstrous — and  I  may  add,  preposterous — charge, 
Treskow  replied  that  he  would  not  allow  them  to 
pass  through  his  lines,  and  that  if  they  should  attempt 
to  do  so  he  would  have  them  shot. 

The  hospital  was  bombarded,  though  it  flew  the 
Red  Cross  flag,  and  many  sick  and  wounded  were 
killed  in  their  beds.  But  that  mattered  little  to 
General  von  Treskow.  At  eight  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  February  13  Belfort  fired  its  last  cannon-shot. 
Denfert-Rochereau  had  just  received  orders  from  the 
National  Defence  Government  to  surrender  the  town 
in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  armistice  con- 
cluded with  Germany.  The  garrison  was  to  receive 
the  honours  of  war  and  retire  to  the  interior  of  France. 
The  evacuation  took  place  a  few  days  later,  the  com- 
mander withdrawing  with  340  officers  and  12,582 
men.  He  had  lost  32  officers  and  4713  men  during 
the  siege,  nearly  a  thousand  of  these  having  been 
killed.  More  than  that  number  were  in  hospital  at 
the  time  of  the  capitulation,  and  the  remainder  had 


258  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

been  taken  prisoners  whilst  defending  some  of  the 
outlying  works.  The  Germans  entered  Belfort  on 
February  18,*  and  remained  there  until  August  2, 
1873. 

Bartholdi,  the  able  Alsatian  sculptor,  commemo- 
rated the  defence  of  Belfort  by  designing  the  famous 
Lion,  which  still  looks  down  on  the  gallant  town,  to 
which  Antonin  Mercie  contributed  the  almost  equally 
famous  monument  which  shows  an  Alsacienne  support- 
ing a  dying  Mobile  Guard.  The  town  and  its  territory 
— all  that  remained  to  France  of  Alsace  from  1871 
to  the  advent  of  the  present  war — was  saved  to  her 
by  the  patriotism  of  Thiers.  Bismarck  hankered  for 
this  strip  of  ground.  He  well  knew  that  possession 
of  the  Gap  of  Belfort  would  greatly  facilitate  any 
future  German  invasion  of  France.  But  Thiers  was 
no  fool,  and  when  Bismarck  offered,  in  return  for 
Belfort,  to  forgo  the  German  entry  into  Paris,  the 
French  statesman  did  not  hesitate.  He  preferred 
that  his  country  should  suffer  a  few  days  of  humilia- 
tion rather  than  incur  irremediable  detriment.  Thus 
was  Belfort  saved. 

In  Lorraine,  south-west  of  Nancy  and  Luneville, 
there  is  a  little  town  called  Rambervillers.  On 
October  9,  1870,  it  was  attacked  by  2000  Germans, 
and  vigorously  defended  by  a  couple  of  hundred 
National  Guards,  good  marksmen  all,  who  kept  the 
enemy  at  bay  for  several  hours  and  inflicted  many 
casualties  on  him  before  retreating.  Twenty-one 
wounded  Guards  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Germans, 
who  immediately  put  them  to  death.  Appended  to 
the  arms  of  Rambervillers  is  the  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honour  conferred  upon  the  town  for  the  gallant 

*  Not  a  drop  of  wine  nor  a  crust  of  bread  then  remained  in  the  town, 
and  the  generous  Swiss  had  to  succour  the  inhabitants. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  259 

effort  which  it  made.  During  the  siege  of  Strasburg 
the  neighbouring  bourg  of  Robertsau  was  burnt  to 
the  ground  by  the  Germans  for  harbouring  enemies. 
The  invaders  seized  all  the  tobacco  in  the  Alsatian 
depots  and  sold  it  for  £24,000.  At  Erstein,  a  little 
tobacco-growing  locality,  they  demanded  the  delivery 
of  6000  cigars  in  three  days.  In  the  canton  of  Barr, 
inhabited  by  some  19,000  people,  they  sent  out 
requisitions  for  54,000  kilogrammes  of  bread,  72,000 
kilogrammes  of  meat,  18,000  kilogrammes  of  rice, 
1800  kilogrammes  of  salt,  the  same  weight  of  roasted 
and  2400  kilogrammes  of  unroasted  coffee,  50,000 
litres  of  wine,  and  vast  quantities  of  oats,  hay,  and 
straw.  They  continued  to  seize  goods  even  during 
the  armistice,  and  great  sales  of  plunder  often  took 
place  in  the  German  frontier  towns. 

To  such  a  point  were  the  dear  Alsatian  brothers 
and  sisters  despoiled  that  the  articles  offered  at 
those  sales  comprised  sheets,  table-cloths,  curtains, 
wearing  apparel,  including  aprons  and  women's  caps, 
clocks,  and  even  children's  toys.  Plunder  was  some- 
times conveyed  to  Switzerland  and  sold  there.  The 
Easier  Nackrichten  announced  in  January  1871  a  sale 
of  articles  of  furniture  from  La  Malmaison,  formerly 
belonging  to  the  Empress  Josephine,  also  of  tables, 
secretaires,  and  consoles  which  had  belonged  to 
Mme.  de  Pompadour,  Louis  XV,  and  Louis  XVI, 
a  painting  by  Baron  Gerard  depicting  some  children 
carried  off  by  an  eagle,  another  by  Gerome  represent- 
ing some  young  Greeks  inciting  cocks  to  fight,  and 
described  as  having  secured  a  first  prize  at  the  Paris 
Salon  of  1847,  together  with  a  number  of  sketches  by 
Delacroix.  Other  lots  included  monumental  clocks, 
fine  porcelain  and  glass,  and  a  great  variety  of  tools 
filched  from  Alsatian  factories  and  workshops. 


260  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

But  to  return  to  the  German  exactions  and  out- 
rages, a  levy  of  £40,000  was  made  on  the  little  Alsatian 
town  of  Haguenau,  which  was  further  required  to 
lodge  a  division  of  Badeners.  Nancy  was  on  one 
occasion  fined  £4000  because  a  shot  which  injured 
nobody  was  fired  in  one  of  its  streets.  A  telegraph 
wire  having  been  broken  near  a  little  village  the 
inhabitants  had  to  pay  £80.  Three  carts  were 
requisitioned  at  a  hamlet  near  Baccarat,  but  one 
could  not  come  as  the  horse  had  fallen  lame.  There- 
upon, money  being  scarce  among  the  peasantry, 
they  were  ordered  to  provide  50  litres  of  brandy 
under  penalty  of  being  shot.  When  Prince  Frederick 
Charles  stayed  at  Nancy,  40  fowls,  25  Ib.  of  butter, 
and  100  eggs  had  to  be  provided  for  his  table  every 
day.  His  staff  also  requisitioned  1500  bottles  of  cham- 
pagne. Several  inhabitants  of  Nancy  were  murdered. 
There  were  many  outrages  at  Briey,  Arrancy,  Flavigny, 
and  other  places.  In  fact,  robbery  and  debauchery 
became  rampant  and  continued  even  during  the  armis- 
tice. Prisoners  of  war  were  often  treated  infamously. 
There  was  the  case  of  a  train  on  its  way  through 
Lorraine  to  Germany,  in  which  French  soldiers  were 
kept  without  a  scrap  of  food  for  eighty- seven  hours 
in  the  depth  of  winter.  Many  were  frozen,  and  were 
pulled  out  dead.  Yet  people  talk  of  present-war 
outrages  as  if  they  were  absolutely  unparalleled  in 
modern  times. 

A  certain  Herr  von  Bonnin  had  been  appointed 
Governor  of  Lorraine,  and  a  certain  Count  Renard 
became  Prefect  of  Nancy.  Both  of  these  men  were 
of  French  ancestry,  but  they  ruled  in  the  very  best 
Prussian  style.  In  January  1871  a  party  of  francs- 
tireurs  stole  into  the  little  village  of  Fontenoy,  near 
Toul,  and  destroyed  a  bridge  there.  The  Germans 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  261 

immediately  set  fire  to  Fontenoy  without  allowing 
its  inhabitants  to  remove  a  scrap  of  furniture  from 
their  houses,  or  even  their  few  remaining  cattle  from 
their  sheds.  Further,  Herr  von  Bonnin  imposed  on 
the  province  of  Lorraine  a  special  fine  of  £400,000.* 
Next,  Count  Renard  requisitioned  500  men  to  rebuild 
the  bridge.  None  being  forthcoming  he  declared  that 
he  would  render  all  master-men  responsible.  Finally 
he  issued  an  order  stating  that  if  the  necessary  men 
were  not  at  the  railway  station  within  twenty-four 
hours,  he  would  have  a  certain  number  arrested  and 
immediately  shot.  That  was  one  of  the  customary 
forms  of  terrorism.  In  the  industrial  towns  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  men  and  women  were  constantly 
requisitioned  to  work  for  the  Germans,  even  as 
Belgians,  French  folk,  and  others  have  been  requisi- 
tioned during  the  Great  War.  In  some  instances, 
when  sufficient  labour  could  not  be  procured,  machi- 
nery was  taken  to  pieces  and  removed  to  Germany 
so  that  it  might  be  utilized  there.  This  course  was 
taken  with  respect  to  some  of  the  works  at  Ars-sur- 
Moselle,  near  Metz. 

In  spite  of  the  German  occupation  many  Alsatians 
and  Lorrainers  managed  to  get  away  and  join  the 
armies  which  Gambetta  improvised.  The  idea  that 
their  dear  delivered  brethren  should  flee  from  their 
rule  and  fight  against  them  particularly  incensed  the 

*  Bonnin's  decree  ran  as  follows:  "In  the  name  of  His  Majesty  the 
King  of  Prussia.  Whereas  the  bridge  of  Fontenoy,  to  the  east  of  Toul,  has 
been  destroyed,  it  is  edicted  that  the  circumscription  under  the  general 
government  of  Lorraine  shall  pay  an  extraordinary  tax  of  ten  millions  of 
francs  as  a  fine  for  this  offence.  Notice  thereof  is  hereby  given  to  the  public, 
with  this  remark,  that  the  apportionment  of  the  fine  will  be  subsequently 
determined  and  that  payment  thereof  will  be  enforced  with  the  greatest 
severity.  The  village  of  Fontenoy  was  immediately  set  on  fire,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  buildings  reserved  for  the  occupation  of  the  troops.  Done  at 
Nancy,  January  23, 1871.  The  Governor-General  of  Lorraine  :  VON 


262  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

invaders,   and  the   following  decree   was   eventually 
issued : 

WE,  Wilhelm,  King  of  Prussia,  etc.  etc.,  hereby  make  the  following  order 
for  the  General  Governments  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine : 

I.  Whosoever  shall  join  the  French  forces  shall  be  punished  with  the 
confiscation  of  all  his  present  and  inheritable  property  and  be  banished  for 
a  period  of  ten  years. 

II.  Sentence  shall  be  pronounced  by  a  judgment  of  our  General  Govern- 
ments, and,  three  days  after  its  publication  in  the  official  part  of  a  journal 
issued  in  either  Government,  shall  enter  into  force  and  be  carried  into  effect 
by  our  civil  and  military  authorities. 

III.  All  payments  due  at  any  later  date  to  the  condemned  shall  be 
accounted  null  and  void. 

IV.  All  deeds  of  gift  or  bequests  made  by  the  condemned  out  of  his 
fortune  after  the  publication  of  this  decree  shall  be  null  and  void. 

V.  Whosoever  desires  to  quit  his  place  of  residence  must  request  per- 
mission to  do  so  from  the  [German]  Prefect,  stating,  in  writing,  the  cause 
and  object  of  his  departure.     Whosoever  absents  himself  for  more  than  one 
week  without  permission  to  do  so  shall  be  held  legally  to  have  joined  the 
French  forces. 

VI.  The  Prefects  shall  prepare  and  control  presence-lists  of  all  male 
inhabitants. 

VII.  The  money  accruing  from  all  confiscations  shall  be  paid  into  the 
treasuries  of  the  General  Governments. 

VIII.  Return  from  banishment  shall  entail  the  penalty  specified  by  Clause 
33  of  the  Penal  Code. 

IX.  This  decree  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  of  its  publication. 
Done  at  Head-quarters  at  Versailles,  this  16th  December,  1870. 

WILHELM. 
v.  Bismarck, 
v.  Roon. 

However,  the  Alsatians  and  Lorrainers  paid  no 
heed  to  that  decree.  When  an  old  veteran  of  the 
Crimea,  Magenta,  and  Solferino,  named  Bischer, 
belonging  to  Mulhouse,  was  arrested  and  cast  into 
prison  by  the  Germans  for  recruiting  young  Alsatians 
for  the  French  army,  he  replied  to  every  question 
put  to  him  by  his  captors,  "  I  did  my  duty."  He 
was  shot  for  his  so-called  offence,  but  this  did  not 
prevent  nearly  20,000  Alsatians  from  acting  as  he 
and  others  suggested.  I  have  said  that  the  Vosges 
mountains  swarmed  with  francs-tireurs.  These  men 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  263 

carried  on  an  unremitting  partisan  warfare  against 
the  smaller  German  detachments.  The  enemy  was 
also  quite  infuriated  by  the  daring  exploits  of  some 
bands  operating  between  Colmar  and  Belfort. 

The  instances  which  I  have  given  of  German 
greed  and  oppression  might  be  multiplied  many  times 
over.  Were  I  to  recount  all  that  occurred  the  story 
would  be  as  long  and  as  gruesome  as  those  attaching 
nowadays  to  Belgium,  Northern  France,  Poland, 
Russia,  Serbia,  and  Rumania.  There  are,  of  course, 
categories  and  degrees  of  infamy.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  Prussians  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
innate  passion  for  plundering.  They  were  the  thieves 
of  the  invading  armies.  The  Southern  Germans  were 
more  particularly  the  sensualists :  the  Bavarians 
excelled  in  crimes  of  lust.  Brutality  was  rampant 
among  one  and  all.  Even  as  has  been  the  case  in 
these  later  times  the  words  Krieg  ist  Krieg  (War  is 
war)  were  ever  on  the  lips  of  the  invaders,  like  a 
kind  of  refrain,  as  if  its  incessant  repetition  would 
serve  to  justify  their  innumerable  crimes. 

Whilst  Alsace  and  Lorraine  and  other  parts  of 
France  were  under  the  German  boot,  Paris  was 
beleaguered,  and  the  tide  of  war  spread  on  one  hand 
to  Picardy,  Artois,  and  Normandy,  then  more  south- 
ward to  the  Orleanais  and  Touraine,  and  thence  more 
westward  to  Maine  and  the  confines  of  Anjou.  East- 
ward it  rolled  from  Lorraine  and  Champagne  into 
Burgundy  and  Franche-Comte.  Gambetta  made 
stupendous  efforts  to  save  his  country.  Faidherbe 
wrestled  with  the  Germans  in  North- Western  France, 
Chanzy  contended  with  them  in  the  west-central 
provinces,  Bourbaki  and  Garibaldi  struggled  to  stem 
the  invasion  in  the  east.  But  might  triumphed  over 
right,  and  when  starving  Paris  fell  on  January  28, 


264  THE   TRUE   STORY   OF 

1871,  an  armistice  ensued  as  a  preliminary  to  peace. 
It  was  arranged  that  a  French  National  Assembly 
should  be  elected  to  decide  upon  the  German  peace 
terms.  Alsace-Lorraine,  already  doomed — the  Prussian 
sovereign's  decree  set  out  on  a  previous  page  shows 
that  in  December  he  already  regarded  the  coveted 
territory  as  a  German  possession  and  its  inhabitants 
as  his  subjects — replied  to  the  cruelty  of  fate  by  a 
defiant  vote.  To  the  intense  anger  of  the  Germans, 
only  candidates  opposed  to  severance  from  France 
were  elected  by  the  two  provinces.*  Kiiss,  the 
popular  Mayor  of  Strasburg,  polled  most  votes  in 
the  Bas-Rhin  (Lower  Alsace),  securing  more  than 
98,000  suffrages.  In  the  Haut-Rhin  (Upper  Alsace) 
Keller-Haas  headed  the  poll  with  67,725.  Denfert- 
Rochereau  secured  54,911 ;  whilst  Gambetta,  whose 
name  implied  the  rejection  of  the  peace  terms,  was 
elected  by  both  departments,  polling  in  the  first 
named  56,721  votes,  and  in  the  second,  51,957.  He 
was  returned  by  seven  other  departments  of  France, 
including  the  Seine  (Paris),  but  he  resolved  to  sit 
for  the  Strasburg  division  of  Alsace. 

Directly  the  wretched  terms  of  peace  became 
known  the  representatives  of  Alsace-Lorraine  signed 
a  strong  protest,  which  was  deposited  with  the  officials 
of  the  new  Assembly.  It  claimed  for  the  territories 
whose  annexation  was  proposed,  the  right  to  refuse 
to  be  separated  from  France.  It  recited  that  the 
provinces  had  constantly  sacrificed  themselves  for 
the  country's  grandeur,  and  had  sealed  with  their 

*  Their  names  were  Fr.  Andre,  Albrecht,  Bardon,  Boersch,  Boell-Titot, 
Ed.  Bamberger,  S.  Chauffeur,  Denfert-Rochereau,  Domes,  Deschange, 
Gambetta,  Jules  Grosjean,  F.  Hartmann,  Humbert,  Kabl6,  E.  Keller-Haas, 
A.  Koechlin,  Kiiss,  Melsheim,  Th.  Noblot,  Ostermann,  V.  Rehm,  Rencker, 
A.  Saglio,  A.  Scheurer-Kestner,  Schneegans,  A.  Tachard,  E.  Teutsch,  etc. 
All  the  foregoing  signed  the  protest  against  annexation  by  Germany. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  265 

blood  the  indissoluble  bond  which  united  them  to 
France.  It  protested  that  France  could  not  consent 
to  the  cession  to  Germany,  that,  although  the  Assembly 
had  been  elected  by  universal  suffrage,  it  had  no 
right  to  ratify  an  agreement  destructive  of  the  national 
integrity.  It  urged  (unhappily  in  vain)  that  modern 
Europe  could  not  afford  to  ratify  the  surrender  of  the 
provinces,  allow  a  people  to  be  seized  like  a  herd  of 
cattle,  and  remain  deaf  to  the  repeated  protests  of 
the  threatened  populations.  Surely,  for  the  sake 
of  her  own  preservation,  Europe  could  not  sanction 
such  an  abuse  of  force.  The  peace  proposed  would 
constitute  a  mere  truce,  and  prove  a  permanent  incite- 
ment to  war.  Finally,  the  protest  said  : 

We  take  our  compatriots  of  France  and  the  Governments  and  nations  of 
the  whole  world  to  witness  that  we  shall  regard  as  null  and  void  any  decrees 
or  treaties,  votes  or  plebiscites,  which  may  consent  to  the  surrender  in  favour 
of  a  foreign  country  of  all  or  part  of  our  territories  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine. 
We  hereby  proclaim  that  the  right  of  the  Alsatians  and  the  Lorrainers  to 
remain  members  of  the  French  nation  is  and  shall  remain  inviolable,  and 
we  swear,  not  only  for  ourselves  but  for  our  constituents,  our  children  and 
their  descendants  also,  that  this  right  shall  be  for  ever  claimed  by  all  ways 
and  means,  and  against  all  usurpers. 

On  February  17,  1871,  this  declaration  was  read 
to  the  Assembly  by  deputy  Keller,  who  had  com- 
manded the  francs-tireurs  of  the  Upper  Rhine.  But 
events  unhappily  took  their  course,  and  on  March  1 
the  Assembly  was  called  upon  to  ratify  the  prelimi- 
naries of  peace.  After  speeches  against  the  treaty 
had  been  delivered  by  Victor  Hugo,  Louis  Blanc, 
Edgard  Quinet,  and  Keller,  Grosjean,  previously 
Prefect  of  the  Upper  Rhine  under  the  National 
Defence,  read  a  final  protest  on  behalf  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  It  ran  as  follows  : 

Before  the  peace  negotiations  began,  the  representatives  of  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  deposited  with  the  bureau  of  the  Assembly  a  declaration  setting 
forth  on  behalf  of  those  provinces  in  the  most  positive  manner  their  deter- 


266  ALSACE-LORRAINE 

mination  and  their  right  to  remain  French.  Handed  over,  in  defiance  of 
all  justice  and  by  an  odious  abuse  of  force,  to  the  domination  of  foreigners, 
we  have  a  last  duty  to  discharge.  We  yet  once  again  declare  that  a  covenant 
which  disposes  of  us  without  our  consent  is  null  and  void.  The  liberty  to 
claim  our  rights  remains  open  to  one  and  all  in  such  manner  and  degree  as 
our  consciences  may  dictate.  At  the  moment  of  leaving  this  hall,  where 
feelings  of  dignity  prevent  us  from  staying  any  longer,  the  supreme  thought 
in  the  depths  of  our  hearts,  despite  the  bitterness  of  our  grief,  is  one  of  grati- 
tude to  those  who  for  six  months  past  have  not  ceased  to  defend  us,  and  of 
unchangeable  attachment  to  the  country  from  which  we  are  torn  by  violence. 
All  our  wishes  will  follow  you,  and  we  shall  wait,  with  firm  confidence  in 
the  future,  for  the  time  when  regenerated  France  will  resume  control  of  her 
great  destiny.  Your  brothers  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  separated  at  this 
moment  from  the  common  family,  will  retain  a  filial  affection  for  France  in 
her  absence  from  their  hearths  until  the  day  arrives  when  she  will  resume 
her  place  there  once  more. 

When  the  vote  on  the  preliminaries  of  peace  was 
taken,  546  members  of  the  Assembly  voted  in  favour 
of  their  ratification,  whilst  107  deputies  pronounced 
against  them,  these  including  a  number  of  men  who 
were  then  already,  or  became  subsequently,  con- 
spicuous figures  in  France.  Among  the  names  I  find 
those  of  Gambetta,  Clemenceau,  Victor  Hugo,  Louis 
Blanc,  Edgard  Quinet,  Henri  Brisson,  Emmanuel 
Arago,  Edmond  Adam,  Arnaud  de  FAriege,  Floquet, 
Dorian,  Edouard  Lockroy,  Duclerc,  Ranc,  Scheurer- 
Kestner,  Felix  Pyat,  and  Generals  Chanzy,  Billot, 
and  Mazure.  Of  the  whole  band  which  thus  rejected 
the  conditions  imposed  on  France  by  Germany, 
Clemenceau,  I  believe,  is  now  the  only  survivor. 
If  he  still  be  Prime  Minister  of  France  on  the 
hastening  day  of  a  Victorious  Peace  he  will  know 
how  to  redeem  the  promise  implied  by  the  vote  he 
gave  on  March  1,  1871.  The  definitive  treaty  imposed 
by  Bismarck  was  signed  at  Frankfort  on  May  10,  and 
ratified  by  the  French  Assembly  eight  days  after- 
wards. 


IX 
UNDER  GERMAN  RULE 

Bismarck  and  Alsace-Lorraine  :  Why  the  Provinces  were  not  annexed 
to  Prussia  :  French  Money  as  Compensation  for  German  Frightful- 
ness  :  The  Option  between  French  and  German  Nationality  :  The 
Exodus  and  the  continued  Emigration  :  Population  of  the  Provinces 
in  various  Years  :  The  Impossibility  of  a  Plebiscitum  :  Education 
and  Germanization  :  Officialdom  in  the  Provinces  :  Dr.  von  Moeller's 
Regime  :  Bishop  Raess's  great  Betrayal  :  Some  Quotations  from 
Bismarck  :  Episodes  in  later  History — War  Scares,  the  Schnsebele  and 
Zabern  Affairs,  etc.  :  The  Constitution  of  1911  :  The  Head  Func- 
tionaries and  the  Chambers  :  The  Garrison  early  in  1914  :  Concluding 
Remarks. 

IN  addressing  the  first  Reichstag  of  the  newly  con- 
stituted German  Empire  in  August  1871,  Prince 
Bismarck,  whilst  declaring  that  it  had  been  necessary 
to  incorporate  Alsace-Lorraine  with  the  territory  of 
Germany  "  in  order  to  ensure  the  peace  of  Europe," 
candidly  admitted  that  the  aversion  of  the  people 
was  an  obstacle.  "  We  shall  strive,  however,"  said 
he,  "  to  win  back  to  us  this  population  by  means  of 
Teutonic  patience  and  affection  (!).  We  shall,  in 
particular,  grant  communal  liberties."  On  a  second 
occasion  he  stated  that  it  was  better  Alsace-Lorraine 
should  hold  the  position  of  a  province  of  the  Empire 
than  be  annexed  to  Prussia  (which  had  been  his 
original  intention),  because  he  had  found  that  the 
inhabitants  had  greater  sympathy  with  Germany 
generally  than  with  the  Prussian  State.  He  expressed 
his  belief  in  two  influences,  the  material  well-being  of 
the  existing  generation  and  the  educational  training 

267 


268  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

of  the  next.  It  was  in  furtherance  of  the  first  object, 
he  said,  that  he  had  accepted  a  part  of  the  war 
indemnity  payable  by  the  French  in  notes  of  the 
Bank  of  France,  so  that  he  might  at  once  have  some 
funds  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  population  to  whom 
those  notes  were  familiar.  As  regards  the  other  part 
of  his  programme,  as  he  had  been  given  a  free  hand 
to  deal  with  the  provinces  until  the  early  part  of 
1873,  he  issued  an  edict  enforcing  compulsory  educa- 
tion after  the  German  pattern  on  every  child  above 
six  years  of  age.  Much  was  made  of  the  fact  that  a 
sum  of  nearly  £2,000,000  was  given  to  Strasburg  in 
compensation  for  its  bombardment,  but  this  money 
came  out  of  the  indemnity  of  200  millions  which 
France  had  covenanted  to  pay  to  Germany.  It  is,  of 
course,  easy  to  be  generous  with  other  people's  money. 
One  curious  little  circumstance  may  be  mentioned  in 
connexion  with  the  rebuilding  of  Strasburg.  Vauban's 
old  citadel  had  been  very  badly  battered  by  the 
bombardment,  and  the  Germans,  extremely  proud  of 
this  achievement,  invited  people  to  come  and  inspect 
their  work  of  destruction,  setting  up  a  notice-board 
and  a  turnstile,  and  charging  each  visitor  a  franc  as 
admission  fee.  Even  Barnum  might  have  shrunk 
from  such  a  proceeding. 

In  connexion  with  the  mode  of  payment  of  the 
French  wrar  indemnity,  the  provinces  suffered  from 
the  curtailment  of  some  privileges  which  had  been 
previously  agreed  upon.  There  was  to  have  been 
free  trade  between  them  and  France  until  the  middle 
of  1873,  but,  in  return  for  Bismarck's  assent  to 
modifications  in  the  French  payments,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  free-trade  period  should  cease  at  the  end  of 
1872.  Moreover,  the  right  of  the  inhabitants  to 
choose  individually  either  French  or  German  nation- 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  269 

ality  was  in  like  manner  curtailed,  the  period  during 
which  this  might  be  done  being  finally  limited  to 
about  fifteen  months  after  the  signing  of  the  Treaty 
of  Frankfort,  in  such  wise  as  to  expire  on  September 
30,  1872.  Staehling,  an  Alsatian  writer,  contrasts 
this  limitation  with  the  delay  granted  in  1815  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Sarre  region,  annexed  to  Prussia 
and  Bavaria,  who  were  allowed  six  years  to  determine 
their  nationality.  Thiers  was  rightly  anxious  to  free 
France  from  the  German  occupation  and  for  that  pur- 
pose to  expedite  the  payment  of  the  war  indemnity; 
but  Pouyer-Quertier,  his  Minister  of  Finances,  was  a 
Norman  cotton-spinner,  jealous  of  the  Alsatian  textile 
manufactures,  and  though  he  smoothed  away  certain 
financial  difficulties,  he  calmly  sacrificed  the  interests 
of  the  Alsatians  and  Lorrainers. 

At  the  outset,  vast  numbers  of  the  people  declared 
for  French  nationality.  Many  thousands  flocked 
right  eagerly  into  France,  the  population  of  such 
towns  as  Nancy,  Luneville,  Saint-Die,  Belfort,  etc., 
going  up  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Many  important 
businesses  were  likewise  transferred  to  French  terri- 
tory. But  when  the  Germans  made  it  known  that  all 
persons  electing  to  remain  French  citizens  must  leave 
Alsace-Lorraine,  thousands  found  themselves  in  posi- 
tions of  the  greatest  difficulty.  Many  were  tied  to 
the  soil  which  furnished  their  only  means  of  sub- 
sistence, and  discovered  that  if  they  decided  for 
French  nationality  they  must  part  with  their  little 
all.  Thus  the  number  of  options  in  favour  of  France 
dwindled  as  time  went  on.  There  was  at  first  no 
great  influx  of  German  agricultural  settlers,  willing  to 
buy  the  land,  though  directly  peace  had  been  signed 
thousands  of  German  workmen  poured  into  the 
annexed  territory  to  take  the  places  of  the  Alsatian 


270  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

workmen,  who,  not  being  linked  to  the  soil  like  the 
peasantry,  had  speedily  removed  to  France,  where 
they  well  knew  that  their  nationality,  their  industry, 
and  their  skill  would  make  them  welcome. 

At  the  same  time  the  provinces  became  a  dumping- 
ground  for  German  officials.  In  the  very  midst  of 
the  war  Bismarck  had  received  6000  applications  for 
official  posts  in  Alsace-Lorraine,  and  the  annexation 
brought  swarms  of  would-be  functionaries  ^n  the 
train  of  the  hordes  of  tobacconists  and  vendors  of 
indecent  photographs  by  whom  the  provinces  were 
overrun.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  option  period 
drew  to  a  close,  a  woeful  exodus  of  Alsatians  and 
Lorrainers  set  in.  For  the  reasons  I  have  mentioned, 
this  exodus  was  not  so  great  as  it  might  have  been ; 
but  in  the  last  days  of  September  1872,  between 
sixty  and  seventy  thousand  people  crossed  the  new 
frontier  into  France,  accompanied  at  times  by  little 
carts  in  which  their  few  household  goods  were  piled, 
or  carrying  packs  on  their  shoulders,  or  trudging 
along  with  wheelbarrows  containing  bundles,  crockery, 
pans,  and  pots.  Our  Annual  Register  for  1872  grossly 
underestimates  the  number  of  Alsatians  and  Lor- 
rainers  who  left  their  homes.  Thousands  never  for- 
mally signed  any  declaration  of  option,  but  simply 
fled.  The  same  publication  is  in  error  in  stating  that 
when  the  German  army  conscription  lists  were  opened 
more  young  men  presented  themselves  for  service 
than  could  be  received  into  the  ranks.  That  is  simply 
a  piece  of  bunkum  derived  from  some  German  source. 
From  1872  to  the  present  time  there  has  always  been 
a  shortage  of  conscripts,  notwithstanding  the  plant- 
ing of  thousands  of  Germans  in  the  provinces.  In 
1878  the  territory  was  liable  to  contribute  40,833 
conscripts,  but  only  4822  came  forward  willingly,  and 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  271 

3981  were  sentenced,  in  their  absence,  to  imprisonment 
for  having  emigrated  without  permission  to  France, 
Luxemburg,  and  Switzerland.  Further,  in  1884,  among 
38,872  who  were  liable  there  were  as  many  as  9854 
defaulters.  Even  German  official  statistics  have  testi- 
fied year  after  year  to  the  reluctance  of  young 
Alsatians  and  Lorrainers  to  enter  the  army. 

As  for  the  German  emigration  statistics  they  apply 
only  to  open,  authorized  emigrations  from  Alsace- 
Lorraine  to  distant  parts  of  the  world.  To  France 
emigration  has  never  been  officially  authorized.  The 
returns  merely  mention  517  emigrations  from  the 
provinces  in  1913,  and  249  during  the  pre-war  period 
of  the  following  year.  Equally  recent  French  figures 
respecting  the  number  of  Alsatians  and  Lorrainers 
naturalized  in  France  are  not  available,  but  I  find 
that  as  late  as  1911  there  were  1990  such  naturaliza- 
tions. An  examination  of  the  successive  issues  of  the 
Annuaire  statistique  de  la  France  from  1873  to  the 
above-mentioned  date  would  show  that,  in  spite  of 
all  prohibitions  and  obstacles,  at  least  1,000,000  people 
have  come  into  the  old  country  in  order  to  escape  from 
German  rule. 

The  population  of  Alsace-Lorraine  has  undoubtedly 
increased  since  the  annexation,  when  it  was  approxi- 
mately 1,200,000.  In  1885  it  stood  at  1,564,355,  in 
1890  at  1,603,107,  in  1900  at  1,717,451,  and  on 
December  1,  1910  (the  last  census),  at  1,874,014, 
representing  a  density  of  333*9  inhabitants  per  square 
mile.  There  was  then  a  majority  of  males — 965,625 
against  908,389  females.  The  increase  which  has 
taken  place  in  spite  of  so  much  emigration  has  been 
due  to  the  fact  that  both  the  Alsatians  and  the 
German  settlers  are  very  prolific  races. 

The  facts  which  I  have  recited  will,  I  trust,  make 


272  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

it  clear  that  any  referendum  to  the  population  of  the 
present  time  would  be  absolutely  misleading  unless 
the  German  settlers  and  their  offspring  were  absolutely 
debarred  from  voting.  Moreover,  even  if  the  principle 
of  a  referendum  were  accepted  all  sorts  of  difficulties 
would  arise.  When  Savoy  and  the  county  of  Nice 
were  united  to  France  in  1860  the  population  remained 
undisturbed.  Its  voting  was  not  influenced  by  the 
presence  of  any  foreign  element.  It  only  knew  that 
the  Italian  Government  was  willing  to  assent  to  the 
cession,  provided  the  inhabitants  agreed  to  it.  In 
the  case  of  Alsace-Lorraine  it  is  very  different,  and 
not  only  would  it  be  right  to  eliminate  the  German 
element  from  the  voting,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
equity  would  require  that  the  scattered  Alsatian- 
Lorrainers  should  be  consulted. 

There  are  large  numbers  in  France,  many  thousands 
also  in  Algeria,  where  grants  of  land  were  made  to 
them  by  the  French  Government.  Thousands  have 
also  settled  in  Switzerland,  and,  further,  thousands 
have  gone  to  North  and  South  America  and  other 
lands  beyond  the  seas.  There  is  even  a  considerable 
number  in  Great  Britain,  whose  interests  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  Ligue  patriotique  des  Alsaciens-Lorrains, 
of  which  Lord  Balfour  of  Burleigh  is  the  honorary 
president,  the  acting  president  being  M.  E.  Roudolphi.* 
Now  in  eight  out  of  every  ten  cases  the  emigration 
from  Alsace-Lorraine  has  not  been  voluntary.  These 
people  were  attached  to  their  native  land,  and  in  all 
probability  under  French  rule  an  immense  majority 
of  them  would  have  remained  at  home.  Excepting 
in  the  four  years  1872,  1888,  1889,  and  1890,  when  the 
proportion  of  emigrants  from  French  territory  to 
countries  beyond  the  sea  was  27,  61,  82,  and  54  per 

*  The  offices  are  at  18  Green  Street,  Leicester  Square,  London. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  273 

100,000  of  the  population,  the  average  since  1871  has 
never  exceeded  20  per  100,000,  and  has  often  been 
considerably  less.*  It  may  be  taken  that  even  the 
total  emigration  from  France,  which  would  include 
that  to  continental  States,  has  been  less  than  that 
from  any  other  country  in  Europe — the  emigration 
from  the  United  Kingdom  almost  invariably  supplying 
the  highest  figures. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  Alsatian  emigrants  left  their 
territory  on  account  of  the  German  rule.  If  a 
plebiscitum  were  taken  it  would  be  necessary  to 
include  in  it  all  the  elements  of  the  people  dispersed 
in  one  and  another  land.  Is  such  a  thing  possible, 
thinkable  even  ?  But  the  French  Government — 
through  the  President  of  the  Republic,  successive 
Prime  Ministers  and  Foreign  Secretaries — has  abso- 
lutely repudiated  the  idea  of  any  plebiscitum  at  all.f 
Alsace-Lorraine  was  torn  from  France  by  force,  and 
must  be  unconditionally  returned.  What  of  the 
German  settlers  ?  I  may  be  asked.  I  answer  that 
sauce  for  the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander  also ;  but 
I  will  add  that  the  French  Republican  Government 
has  always  been  more  equitable,  more  generous, 
than  that  of  the  German  Empire,  and  I  am  quite 
sure  that  when  Alsace-Lorraine  is  restored  to 
France  the  German  settlers  will  be  allowed  far 
more  time  and  freedom  to  decide  on  what  course 
they  will  take  than  were  granted  to  the  inhabitants 
in  1871-72. 

An  important  point  in  Bismarck's  programme  was 
the  diffusion  of  education  on  German  lines.  A  new 
university  for  Strasburg  was  nominally  inaugurated 
on  May  1, 1872.  The  building  in  which  that  university 

*  Annuaire  statistigue  de  la  France,  1913. 

£"  f  An  important  letter  on  the  subject,  written  by  M.  Roudolphi,  appeared 
in  the  Daily  ^Telegraph  on  August  30,  1917. 

8 


274  THE    TRUE   STORY   OF 

is  now  installed  had  not  then  been  erected.  A 
certain  Professor  Briich  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
new  institution,  which  was  afterwards  endowed  by 
the  Reichstag,  and  attended  at  first  almost  ex- 
clusively by  a  couple  of  hundred  young  Germans 
deliberately  imported  into  the  province.  Just  before 
the  present  war,  however,  this  university,  which 
includes  faculties  of  theology,  law,  medicine,  philo- 
sophy, mathematics,  and  natural  science,  had  178 
professors  with  an  annual  attendance  of  about  1100 
students.  I  am  not  at  all  inclined  to  dispute  the 
fact  that  the  German  rulers  have  greatly  increased  the 
number  of  schools  in  Alsace-Lorraine.  In  1911  there 
were  2974  of  all  categories  with  3123  male  and  2586 
female  teachers.  The  curriculum  in  these  schools 
may  well  be  a  good  one  in  respect  to  all  ordinary 
matters,  but  the  great  purpose  of  the  schools  has 
been  to  ensure  domination  and  Germanization.  To 
influence  the  children,  to  make  them  forget  that 
their  land  was  ever  a  French  province,  has  been  the 
supreme  object  of  the  German  authorities. 

I  referred  in  a  another  chapter  *  to  the  obstacles 
placed  in  the  way  of  pupils  desirous  of  learning  the 
French  language.  Many  parents,  however,  steadily 
strive  to  undermine  the  Teutonic  influence.  Although 
French  may  not  be  spoken  currently  it  is  often  taught 
and  used  secretly  at  home,  where,  in  the  lamplight 
during  the  long  winter  evenings,  tales  of  the  days 
when  Alsace-Lorraine  was  part  of  France  are  often 
told.  One  must  therefore  only  accept  with  several 
grains  of  salt  the  official  statistics,  which  state  that  in 
1910  1,634,260  persons  spoke  German  exclusively, 
and  that  the  French-speaking  population  was  limited 
to  204,262.  Many  more  would  have  spoken  French 
openly  had  they  only  dared.  So  zealous  have  the 

*  See  p.  222,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  275 

authorities  always  been  to  promote  Germanization  by 
educational  means  that  more  than  half  of  the  customs 
revenue  and  of  the  proceeds  of  other  indirect  taxes 
has  been  assigned  to  the  schools. 

The  names  of  the  officials  of  one  and  another 
category  fill  page  after  page  of  the  Staatshandbuch  for 
1914.  There  is  almost  no  end  to  them,  and  un- 
doubtedly many  are  not  only  officials  but  spies  as 
well,  who  watch  sedulously  for  any  signs  of  dis- 
affection. Mr.  H.  J.  Cowell,  of  the  Social  and  Political 
Education  League,  mentioned  in  an  interesting  lecture 
delivered  by  him  during  the  present  war,  and  after- 
wards printed  in  pamphlet  form,*  that  Germany  had 
done  everything  to  keep  Alsace-Lorraine  in  remem- 
brance that  she  was  a  conquered  country ;  and  he 
quoted  the  following  pertinent  remarks  emanating 
from  an  Alsatian  :  "I  went  to  the  tribunal  for  some 
matters  in  which  I  was  concerned.  My  judges  hail 
from  the  Palatinate.  I  afterwards  went  to  the 
registrar,  the  custom-house,  and  the  railway  station. 
The  registrar  is  a  Pomeranian,  at  the  custom-house 
there  is  a  Wiirttemberger,  and  at  the  station  a  Saxon. 
I  buy  a  stamp  for  a  letter.  Who  is  behind  the  little 
window  at  the  post  office  ?  A  Prussian.  I  should 
like  to  complain  about  these  Germans  occupying  all 
our  positions.  But  what  would  be  the  use  ?  The 
editor  of  the  local  newspaper  is  a  Westphalian. 
These  people  not  only  occupy  the  best  positions,  but 
dispose,  in  their  own  way,  of  all  the  vacancies  in  a 
country  where  I  was  born  and  bred,  and  where  my 
family  has  lived  for  many  centuries." 

At  the  outset  the  German  rulers  had  an  extremely 
difficult  time  of  it,  on  which  account  they  biiilt  no 
fewer  than  seventy-six  new  prisons  for  the  accommo- 

*  Published,  with  an  introduction  by  M.  Roudolphi,  by  the  Ligue  patrio- 
des  Aleaciens-Lorrains,  18  Green  Street,  W.C. 


276  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

dation  of  malcontents.  As  was  previously  stated,  the 
administration  was  originally  in  the  hands  of  Prince 
Bismarck,  the  first  fundamental  laws  regulating 
the  conditions  of  Government  being  voted  by  the 
Reichstag  in  June  1871,  June  1872,  and  June  1873. 
The  German  Chancellor  at  first  placed  his  kinsman, 
Bismarck-Bohlen,  and  afterwards  a  certain  Dr.  von 
Moeller,  in  charge  of  the  immediate  executive ;  con- 
cerning himself  mainly  with  questions  of  policy  and 
leaving  matters  of  detail  to  his  delegates.  The  first 
municipal  councils  elected  under  the  German  regime 
were  altogether  pro-French  in  their  tendencies.  One 
day  M.  Lauth,  who  was  elected  Mayor  of  Strasburg, 
remarked  to  the  German  Prefect,  a  man  named 
Ernsthausen,  that  he  hoped  he  would  ultimately 
become  French  again.  Ernsthausen  naturally  re- 
peated those  imprudent  words  to  Moeller,  who  at 
once  dismissed  Lauth  from  his  office  and  appointed 
Herr  Bach,  director  of  the  German  police,  to  discharge 
the  mayoral  duties.  In  September  1872  the  Order  of 
Freemasons  was  suppressed  throughout  the  annexed 
territory,  on  the  ground  that  it  might  favour  inter- 
course and  conspiracy  with  France.  Moeller  treated 
the  inhabitants,  not  as  equals  nor  even  as  vassals,  but 
absolutely  as  serfs.  When  some  people,  imagining 
that  a  comparatively  short  sojourn  in  France  would 
settle  the  question  of  their  nationality,  ventured  to 
return  to  their  native  land,  they  were  promptly 
arrested,  cast  into  prison,  and  declared  nolens  volens 
to  be  German  subjects.  The  whole  judicial  system 
was  altered,  German  enactments  replacing  the  French 
Code.  However,  though  the  German  language  at 
once  became  obligatory  for  all  such  public  bodies  as 
municipal  councils,  French  was  tolerated  on  the  part 
of  advocates  in  the  law  courts  until  1888.  On  the 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  277 

mark  being  substituted  for  the  franc  as  the  current 
standard,  the  price  of  virtually  everything  was 
increased  by  20  per  cent.  The  territory  was  handed 
over  by  France  free  of  all  indebtedness,  but  eight 
years  later  there  was  a  debt  equivalent  to  £2  per  head 
of  the  population. 

The  Constitution  of  the  German  Empire  was 
introduced  into  Alsace-Lorraine  in  January  1874, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  privileged  to  elect  fifteen 
deputies  to  the  Reichstag.  Differences  of  opinion 
on  the  great  question  of  the  day  then  unfortu- 
nately declared  themselves.  Bishop  Raess  of  Stras- 
burg,  whose  bombarded  cathedral  had  been  repaired 
at  a  cost  of  over  £20,000  derived  from  the 
French  indemnity,  virtually  went  over  to  the  Ger- 
mans, and  his  secession  entailed  that  of  a  number 
of  the  Catholic  clergy,  whose  influence  over  their 
parishioners  was  very  great.  Raess,  in  his  zeal 
for  his  Church,  unwittingly  served  Bismarck's  pur- 
poses. The  attitude  assumed  by  him  and  his  clergy 
prevented  the  Alsatian-Lorrainers  from  showing  a 
united  front  at  the  first  elections.  Roman  Catholic, 
or  rather  Ultramontane,  influence  triumphed  in  several 
electoral  divisions,  and  the  very  first  time  the  new 
deputies  attended  the  Reichstag  their  differences 
became  painfully  manifest.  The  opponents  of  Bishop 
Raess  submitted  a  motion  to  the  effect  that  the 
Treaty  of  Frankfort  having  been  concluded  without 
the  sanction  of  the  inhabitants  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  the 
opinions  of  the  latter  ought  to  be  ascertained.  The 
same  deputies  also  moved  that  they  should  be  allowed 
to  address  the  assembly  in  the  French  tongue,  as 
several  of  them  knew  no  German.  Bismarck  replied 
that  in  the  German  Parliament  he  knew  no  other 
language  than  German,  whereupon  a  Protestant 


278  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

Alsatian  deputy  named  Teutsch  delivered  a  speech  in 
that  vernacular.  He  was,  of  course,  violently  inter- 
rupted when  in  regard  to  the  annexation  he  accused 
Germany  of  having  overstepped  the  limits  by  which  a 
civilized  nation  should  have  been  bound,  and  Forcken- 
beck,  the  President,  called  him  to  order.  Nevertheless 
he  succeeded  in  expressing  his  feelings  of  devotion  to 
France.  Bishop  Raess  spoke  next,  and  referring  to 
the  treaty  of  Frankfort  declared  for  himself  and  his 
Alsatian  and  Lorrainer  coreligionists  that  they  did 
not  question  the  treaty's  validity. 

It  was  a  pitiful  exhibition.  The  real  motive  of 
the  Bishop's  unpatriotic  attitude  must  be  sought  in 
the  position  of  the  Papacy  at  that  time.  It  had  lost 
its  territorial  sovereignty  by  the  Italian  occupation 
of  Rome,  and  the  zealots  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
world  were  in  a  great  state  of  indignation.  The 
French  Clericalists  wished  to  force  France  to  make 
war  on  Italy  in  order  to  restore  the  Temporal  Power. 
There  was  also  unrest  on  this  question  in  Catholic 
parts  of  Germany,  whilst  the  Protestants  there 
denounced  many  Catholic  institutions  and  religious 
orders  for  their  subserviency  to  the  Pope,  who,  in  an 
allocution  to  the  College  of  Cardinals  in  1872,  had 
personally  charged  the  Emperor  and  his  Government 
with  "  savage  persecutions  and  secret  machinations 
against  the  Church."  All  this  led  up  to  the  Falk 
laws  and  the  great  Kulturkampf  between  the  Vatican 
and  the  German  Chancellor ;  and  Raess,  who  was  a 
prelate  of  an  extremely  Ultramontane  type,  showed 
far  more  concern  about  the  interests  of  his  Church 
than  about  those  of  his  native  land.  In  fact  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  he  sacrificed  the  interests  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  in  order  that  he  might  the  more 
easily  join  hands  with  the  German  Clericalists.  The 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  279 

Bishop,  however,  did  not  have  everything  his  own 
way.  On  the  day  after  his  declaration  respecting  the 
Frankfort  treaty,  a  Catholic,  though  not  an  Ultra- 
montane, deputy  of  the  annexed  provinces,  named 
Pouget,  who  had  been  unable  to  attend  the  first 
debate,  rose  in  the  Reichstag  and  said  :  "I  am  told 
that  in  recognizing  the  validity  of  the  Treaty  of 
Frankfort,  Bishop  Raess  yesterday  took  upon  himself 
to  speak  in  the  name  of  his  coreligionists  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  If  he  really  did  so  I  am  constrained 
to  say  that  the  Bishop  spoke  in  his  own  name,  and 
not  in  that  of  other  Roman  Catholic  deputies  for 
Alsace-Lorraine."  The  Bishop  was  greatly  mortified 
by  that  well- deserved  rebuke. 

At  that  period  the  Reichstag  debates  respecting 
the  annexed  provinces  were  often  full  of  interest. 
The  motions  which  the  Alsatian  and  Lorrainer 
deputies  submitted  were  invariably  rejected,  securing 
as  a  rule  only  the  support  of  the  Danish,  the  Polish, 
and  some  of  the  Socialist  representatives.  Bismarck 
often  intervened  in  the  discussions,  and,  stung  by  the 
remarks  of  those  who  spoke  for  the  populations 
brought  under  his  domination,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
jeer  and  sneer  at  them.  On  one  occasion,  while 
referring  to  the  Franco- German  War,  he  reproached 
them  for  "  having  taken  part  in  the  infamous  and 
sinful  attack  upon  Germany."  At  another  moment 
he  congratulated  them  on  having  escaped  from  French 
rule  and  from  "  the  agreeable  prospect  of  taking 
voyages  to  the  penal  settlements  of  Lambessa  and 
New  Caledonia."  He  also  remarked  that  as  the 
Alsatians  had  always  supplied  the  French  army  with 
a  disproportionately  large  quota  of  soldiers  and  non- 
commissioned officers,  it  followed  that  in  the  many 
wars  between  the  two  countries  the  Germans  had 


280  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

been  obliged  to  fight  them  as  well  as  the  other  subjects 
of  the  Paris  Government.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  we 
are  now  glad  to  have  these  good  soldiers  on  our  side, 
and  we  shall  certainly  do  all  in  our  power  to  keep 
them  there."  At  another  time,  in  a  debate  on  the 
endowment  of  the  University  of  Strasburg  (November 
1874)  the  Chancellor  expressed  himself  as  follows  : 

The  question  before  us  concerns  the  interests  of  the  Empire.  It  is  not 
a  question  of  Alsace-Lorraine.  The  university  is  to  serve  Imperial  purposes. 
In  the  well-fought  war,  in  which  we  had  to  defend  our  existence,  we  conquered 
the  provinces  for  the  Empire.  It  was  not  for  the  interests  of  Alsace-Lorraine 
that  our  soldiers  shed  their  blood.  We  take  our  stand  upon  the  interests 
of  the  Empire  and  the  Imperial  policy.  Upon  those  grounds  Alsace-Lorraine 
was  annexed,  and  not  for  the  sake  of  Alsace-Lorraine's  ecclesiastical  interests.* 
In  the  Empire  we  act  from  other  motives  than  those  of  the  gentlemen  whose 
past  would  lead  them  back  to  Paris  and  whose  present  conducts  them  to 
Rome.  We  ^ave  to  think  of  the  Empire.  .  .  .  My  first  views  respecting  an 
Alsace-Lorraine  parliament  were  too  sanguine.  .  .  .  They  have  been  modified 
by  what  I  have  seen  of  the  attitude  of  the  Alsatian-Lorrainer  deputies  here. 
Such  a  parliament  would  lead  to  constant  agitation  and  perhaps  endanger 
the  maintenance  of  peace. 

Did  ever  statesman  acknowledge  more  candidly, 
more  bluntly,  more  brutally,  that  he  did  not  care  a 
rap  for  the  interests  or  aspirations  of  those  whom  he 
had  enthralled  ? 

The  representative  institutions  which  were  after- 
wards set  up  in  the  annexed  provinces  were  mere 
shams  and  mockeries — destitute  of  all  authority. 
Nothing  approaching  the  real  nature  of  a  Parliament 
existed  before  the  Constitution  granted  in  1911,  and 
I  will  presently  explain  how  extremely  limited  were 
the  powers  which  that  Constitution  conferred  on  the 
Alsatians  and  Lorrainers.  Bismarck,  in  the  speech 
which  I  have  just  quoted,  referred  to  the  maintenance 
of  peace.  This  was  often  endangered  during  ensuing 

*  The  reference  to  "  ecclesiastical  interests,"  and  the  ensuing  sentence 
also,  were  thrusts  at  Bishop  Raess.  The  latter,  by  the  way,  was  opposed 
to  the  university,  fearing  that  by  the  instruction  imparted  at  it  many  sheep 
might  escape  from  his  fold.  He  at  least  wished  to  prevent  a  large  endowment. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  281 

years.  For  a  long  time  the  spirit  of  revanche  was 
undoubtedly  strong  in  France,  but  on  various  occasions 
it  was  not  this  but  the  German  Chancellor's  provoca- 
tive policy  and  the  agitations  engineered  in  Germany 
by  his  reptile  Press  that  seemed  likely  to  bring  about 
another  war.  Whilst  the  Ultramontane  agitation  in 
France  in  favour  of  the  restoration  of  the  Temporal 
Power  was  certainly  of  a  nature  to  lead  to  hostilities 
against  Italy,  and  through  Italy  against  the  German 
Empire,  the  war  scare  of  1875  was  absolutely  Bis- 
marck's work.  He  was  amazed  at  the  rapid  recovery 
of  France  from  her  disasters,  and  fearing  lest,  in  time, 
she  should  endeavour  to  win  back  Alsace-Lorraine, 
he  resolved  to  crush  her  yet  once  more. 

He  took  as  his  pretext  the  reorganization  of  the 
French  army,  which  included  the  division  of  each 
infantry  regiment  into  four  instead  of  three  battalions. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  no  increase  in  the 
effective  beyond  the  appointment  of  such  regimental 
officers  as  were  necessary  for  an  additional  battalion. 
The  total  strength  of  each  regiment  remained  the 
same  as  before.  But  Bismarck  and  Moltke  professed 
to  be  much  alarmed  and  began  to  prepare  for  another 
war,  after  which,  anticipating  "  victory  as  usual," 
they  intended  to  demand  a  further  cession  of  territory 
(notably  Belfort)  and  an  indemnity  of  400  millions 
sterling.  The  plot  fortunately  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  Marshal  MacMahon's  Government,  and  General 
Le  Flo,  then  French  Ambassador  at  Petrograd,  laid 
everything  before  the  Russian  Emperor,  Alexander  II. 
At  the  same  time  M.  Gavard,  charge  d'affaires  in 
London,  submitted  the  facts  to  our  Foreign  Secretary, 
the  Lord  Derby  of  those  days.  In  the  result,  whatever 
pro-German  proclivities  then  existed  in  Great  Britain, 
Derby  took  up  the  French  cause,  and  our  Government 


282  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

and  that  of  Russia  made  it  known  that  on  France 
declaring  her  peaceful  intentions  they  would  con- 
jointly interfere  to  prevent  the  contemplated  war. 
This  was  Bismarck's  first  serious  defeat  in  the  sphere 
of  foreign  politics,  and  he  revenged  himself  for  it  by 
precipitating  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  and  by  siding 
against  Russia  at  the  famous  Congress  of  Berlin. 

On  the  other  hand,  at  a  somewhat  later  period,  the 
maintenance  of  peace  certainly  incurred  some  danger 
from  the  periodical  demonstrations  of  the  French 
League  of  Patriots,  founded  by  the  French  Kipling, 
the  soldier-poet,  Paul  Deroulede.  This  league  was 
undoubtedly  imbued  with  the  revanche  spirit,  and 
acted  at  times  in  open  defiance  of  Gambetta's  wise 
advice  on  that  subject:  "Keep  it  always  in  mind, 
but  never  speak  of  it "  (Pensez  y  toujours,  mais  n'en 
parlez  jamais).  When  one  recalls,  however,  the 
manner  in  which  Alsace-Lorraine  was  torn  from 
France,  and  the  many  episodes  of  the  time  when  it 
was  French  territory,  one  can  well  understand  not 
only  the  memory  of  the  loss  surviving,  but  also  the 
difficulty  of  restraining  oneself  from  speaking  of  it. 
It  is  related  that  after  Stanley  found  Livingstone,  the 
latter  inquired  what  had  happened  in  Europe  of 
recent  years.  Stanley  told  him  of  the  Franco-German 
War,  the  indemnity  paid  by  France,  and  the  loss 
of  Alsace-Lorraine.  "  Ah  !  ''  Livingstone  replied, 
"  France  will  soon  cease  mourning  over  the  five 
milliards  of  money,  but  she  will  never  forget  those 
two  provinces  !  '' 

In  1887,  when  General  Boulanger  was  French 
Minister  of  War,  a  serious  crisis  in  the  relations  of 
France  and  Germany  occurred.  Boulanger  made 
various  imprudent  speeches  and  lent  himself  to  some 
of  the  demonstrations  of  the  League  of  Patriots, 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  283 

Thereupon  the  German  Press  denounced  him  as  a 
danger  to  peace,  and  the  Imperial  Government  began 
to  move  troops  hither  and  thither  in  Alsace-Lorraine, 
doing  this  with  so  much  fuss  and  publicity  that  it 
seemed  as  if  a  direct  warning  to  France  were  intended. 
The  French  Prime  Minister  was  then  M.  Rene  Goblet, 
a  Radical  politician,  and  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  was  M.  Leopold  Flourens.  Both  were  sin- 
cerely desirous  of  maintaining  peace.  Nevertheless 
there  was  a  panic  on  the  Paris  Bourse  and  a  very  sharp 
drop  in  the  quotations  for  Rentes.  The  Chambers 
voted  considerable  additional  credits  for  the  army 
and  the  navy,  and  Goblet  refused  to  make  a  pacific 
declaration,  a  refusal  which  was  perhaps  a  mistake 
on  his  part.  However,  he  took  up  the  position  that 
his  opinions  were  perfectly  well  known,  and  that  no 
declaration  was  necessary.  Yet  at  the  same  time 
he  told  Boulanger  not  to  dispatch  any  additional 
troops  to  the  frontier,  as  the  general  wished  to  do, 
by  way  of  answering  the  German  military  movements 
in  Alsace.  Moreover,  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  of  Suez 
Canal  fame,  went  on  a  semi-official  mission  to  Berlin, 
and  the  atmosphere  appeared  to  clear.  But  a  frontier 
incident  fraught  with  serious  possibilities  suddenly 
occurred.  The  German  authorities  suspected  a  French 
commissary  of  police  named  Schnaebele,  attached  to 
the  railway  station  of  Pagny-sur-Moselle,  of  inter- 
course with  some  Lorrainer  malcontents,  and  resolved 
to  arrest  him  should  he  ever  cross  the  frontier.  He 
did  so  in  response  to  a  request  from  a  German  police 
official  named  Gautsch,  who  pretended  that  he  wished 
to  confer  with  him  respecting  some  of  the  frontier 
regulations.  Nevertheless,  on  April  20,  1887,  Schnae- 
bele was  arrested  and  conveyed  to  Metz. 

As  a  result  of  this  German  act  of  provocation  the 


284  THE   TRUE    STORY   OF 

question  of  war  or  peace  came  to  the  front  once  more. 
Boulanger  and  some  of  his  colleagues  wished  to  demand 
an  apology  in  a  dispatch  tantamount  to  an  ultimatum. 
But  M.  Flourens,  like  a  true  diplomatist,  scouted  the 
suggestion,  holding  that  Schnaebele's  arrest  under  such 
circumstances  could  not  possibly  be  maintained  by 
any  known  principle  of  law.  In  spite  of  this,  Bou- 
langer, swayed  by  personal  ambition  or  incited  by 
enthusiastic  and  unthinking  firebrands,  tried  to  pre- 
cipitate events  by  sending  as  secretly  as  possible,  and 
in  defiance  of  Goblet's  instructions,  a  number  of 
troops  towards  the  frontier.  Nor  was  that  all,  for  he 
also  wrote  to  the  Tsar,  then  Alexander  III,  or  to  his 
War  Minister,  soliciting  Russian  help.  No  sooner  had 
he  done  so  than  he  boasted  of  his  letter,  and  on  the 
matter  becoming  known  to  M.  Flourens  the  missive 
was  intercepted.  Further,  as  it  seemed  probable  that 
the  affair  would  leak  out,  Flourens  hastened  to  ac- 
quaint the  German  ambassador  in  France  with  all  the 
facts,  pointing  out  that  Boulanger  alone  was  respon- 
sible, and  virtually  throwing  him  over.  Finally, 
Police  Commissary  Schnsebele  was  released,  Bismarck 
stating  to  M.  Herbette,  French  ambassador  at  Berlin, 
that  the  arrest  had  been  justified  by  the  proofs  he 
held  of  Schnaebele's  connivance  with  an  Alsatian 
"  traitor,"  but  that  as  he  had  ventured  on  German  soil 
at  the  invitation  of  a  German  official,  that  invitation 
was  equivalent  to  a  safe-conduct  and  would  be  re- 
spected. In  this  wise  was  war  between  France  and 
Germany  averted.  Whether  Schnaebele  actually  en- 
gaged in  any  plotting  is  a  moot  point.  One  cannot 
take  Bismarck's  word  on  such  a  matter.  It  is  a  fact, 
however,  that  at  the  time  in  question,  as  during  most 
other  periods,  there  was  considerable  unrest  in  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  A  few  months  after  the  Schnaebele  affair 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  285 

eight  Alsatians  were  tried  at  Leipzig  for  high  treason. 
The  chief  charge  against  them  was  that  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  reunion  of  Alsace-Lorraine  with  France, 
they  had  secretly  become  members  of  Deroulede's 
League  of  Patriots.  Some  were  acquitted,  but  one 
was  sentenced  to  two,  another  to  five,  and  another  to 
six  years'  imprisonment.  A  little  later  another  war 
scare,  caused  by  a  German  forest-keeper  shooting  a 
French  sportsman  dead,  and  wounding  another  one, 
in  the  Vosges,  subsided  on  the  German  Government 
paying  some  compensation.  At  a  much  later  date 
trouble,  even  affrays,  occurred  at  Nancy  owing  to  the 
arrogance  of  some  of  the  Germans  settled  in  that  town. 
From  time  to  time,  indeed,  little  "  incidents  "  arose 
which  might  have  led  to  hostilities  but  which  were 
adjusted.  During  the  years  more  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  Great  War  the  chief  dangers  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  peace  between  France  and  Germany  arose  in 
connexion  with  the  Dreyfus  case,  the  German  inter- 
ference in  the  question  of  Morocco,  the  Congo  and 
Cameroons  frontiers,  and,  incidentally,  the  Bagdad 
railway.  Into  those  matters  it  is  unnecessary  to 
enter  here,  for  they  had  no  connexion  with  the 
question  of  Alsace-Lorraine. 

Under  the  German  rule  there  have  been  frequent 
scandals  in  the  annexed  provinces.  Oppression, 
corruption,  and  debauchery  have  gone  hand  in  hand 
among  the  official  and  military  classes.  Many  in- 
stances are  mentioned  in  two  books — "  Les  Scandales 
allemandes  en  Alsace-Lorraine "  (1906)  and  "  Les 
Coulisses  de  1' Alsace-Lorraine  "  (1908) — written  by  a 
former  police  commissary  in  the  German  service 
named  Stephany.  Although  the  evidence  of  an 
official  who  has  parted  from  his  masters  may  be  open 
to  some  suspicion,  such  precise  and  explicit  particulars 


286  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

are  given  in  Stephany's  writings  that,  even  if  they  be 
somewhat  highly  coloured,  they  convey  an  impression 
that  there  must  be  a  great  amount  of  absolute  truth 
in  what  he  says — the  more  so  as  many  incidents 
mentioned  by  him  are  of  a  similar  nature  to  others 
known  to  have  occurred  in  Germany.  Stephany's 
instances  of  debauchery  among  the  military  caste, 
from  such  petty  "  royalties  "  as  the  Prince  of  Schaum- 
burg-Lippe  down  to  junior  lieutenants,  correspond 
with  certain  episodes  of  the  present  war. 

Let  me  now  recapitulate  the  chief  features  of  the 
Zabern  or  Saverne  affair  which  in  1913  attracted 
attention  throughout  the  world.  The  town  of  Saverne 
was  garrisoned  by  two  battalions  of  the  91st  Infantry 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  von  Reuter,  and 
including  among  its  officers  a  certain  Lieutenant 
Forstner,  who  scornfully  applied  the  name  of 
46  Wackes  "  or  "  Square-heads  "  to  the  Alsatian  re- 
cruits under  him.  In  an  address  which  he  delivered 
to  them  wiiilst  warning  them  against  deserting  and 
joining  the  French  Foreign  Legion,  he  also  spoke  very 
offensively  about  the  French,  with  whom  many  of  the 
recruits  had  strong  sympathies.  For  calling  his  men 
by  the  opprobrious  name  of  "  Wackes,'5  Fortsner 
underwent  some  slight  punishment,  but  the  affair 
became  generally  known,  and  created  much  excitement 
throughout  the  provinces.  On  some  demonstrations 
ensuing,  Colonel  von  Reuter  requested  the  head  of  the 
local  administration,  an  Alsatian  named  Mahler,  to 
restore  order,  and  on  Mahler  declaring  that  he  knew 
of  no  reason  for  interfering  with  law-abiding  people, 
Reuter  himself  took  action.  On  November  29  a 
crowd  having  assembled  before  the  barracks — the 
former  palace  of  the  Rohan  Cardinals — he  ordered  a 
certain  Lieutenant  Sehad,  who  that  day  commanded 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  287 

the  Guard,  to  disperse  the  assemblage.  Schad's  men 
did  so  with  great  brutality,  at  the  same  time  arresting 
several  people,  among  whom  were  some  legal  officials 
who  had  just  left  the  court-house.  These  were 
released,  but  the  others  were  detained  in  the  cellars  of 
the  barracks.  The  public  excitement  increased,  dis- 
affection becoming  so  manifest  that  the  position  was 
submitted  to  the  Emperor,  who  was  then  staying  at 
Donauschingen  with  Prince  von  Fiirstenberg.  In  the 
result,  the  Alsatian  Statthalter  or  Viceroy,  Count  von 
Wedel,  and  his  Secretary  of  State  and  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  Von  Zorn-Bulach,  a  member  of  an  Alsatian 
family  which  had  "  ratted  "  to  Germany,  tendered 
their  resignations,  feeling  that  the  military  party,  by 
overriding  the  civil  authorities,  was  responsible  for  the 
serious  trouble  which  had  arisen  in  many  parts  of  the 
provinces.  The  Kaiser,  however,  induced  them  to 
withdraw  their  resignations ;  a  general  was  sent 
to  Saverne  to  inquire  into  what  had  occurred  there, 
and  Reuter  and  Schad  were  afterwards  court- 
martialled  for  ordering  troops  to  move  against  the 
civilian  population.  They  were  ultimately  acquitted 
on  the  ground  that  they  had  kept  within  the  pro- 
visions of  a  Prussian  law  of  1820,  which  empowered 
the  military  authorities  to  act  if  the  civil  administra- 
tion should  neglect  to  enforce  order. 

[  Meantime,  however,  another  incident  had  occurred. 
In  the  course  of  some  field  service  near  Saverne, 
Lieutenant  Forstner,  while  passing  through  a  village, 
cut  down  a  lame  shoemaker  with  whom  he  had  a  brief 
altercation.  This  act  of  brutality  aroused  fresh 
resentment.  Forstner  was  certainly  tried  for  hitting 
and  wounding  a  civilian,  but  although  he  was  at  first 
sentenced  to  a  year's  imprisonment,  he  secured  an 
acquittal  on  appealing  to  a  higher  jurisdiction,  the 


288  THE   TRUE    STORY    OF 

pretext  being  that  he  had  acted  in  "  supposed  self- 
defence  " — a  perfectly  ridiculous  plea  in  the  circum- 
stances, for  the  injured  shoemaker  was  as  inoffensive  as 
he  was  lame.  Debates  ensued  in  the  Reichstag,  where 
Bethmann-Hollweg,  the  Chancellor,  declared  that  the 
regiment  commanded  by  Reuter  had  been  removed 
from  Saverne  and  that  the  law  of  1820  had  been 
abolished  for  Alsace-Lorraine.  Nevertheless,  the 
Reichstag  passed  a  vote  of  censure  by  no  fewer  than 
293  to  54  votes — taking  that  course  as  it  rightly 
apprehended  that  the  marked  .disaffection  in  the 
provinces  could  only  be  quieted  by  reproving  the 
military  element,  to  whose  overbearing  attitude,  not 
only  at  Saverne  but  in  many  other  localities  also, 
the  popular  resentment  was  largely  due.  The  German 
Socialists  afterwards  took  up  some  of  the  grievances 
of  the  Alsatians  and  Lorrainers,  but  on  a  motion  to 
reduce  the  Chancellor's  salary  they  naturally  incurred 
defeat.  However,  Herren  Wedel  and  Zorn-Bulach 
again  resigned  their  offices  and  were  replaced,  the 
former  as  Statthalter  by  Dr.  von  Dallwitz,  and  the 
second  as  Secretary  of  State  and  Minister  of  the 
Interior  by  Count  von  Rcedern. 

By  a  constitution  which  came  into  force  in  1911 
Alsace-Lorraine  was  granted  the  privilege  of  sending 
three  representatives  to  the  German  Federal  Council. 
Sovereign  rights  remained  vested  in  the  Emperor, 
who  was  to  appoint  and  recall,  at  pleasure,  a  Statt- 
halter or  Viceroy.  All  local  laws  were  to  emanate 
from  the  Crown  exclusively,  but  were  to  secure  the 
assent  of  a  Diet  or  Landtag  formed  of  two  chambers. 
The  Upper  Chamber  was  to  be  composed  of  five  rep- 
resentatives of  the  religious  communities,  the  pre- 
siding judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Colmar,  a 
representative  of  Strasburg  University,  four  members 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  289 

representing  the  towns  of  Metz,  Strasburg,  Colmar, 
and  Mulhouse,  various  representatives  of  Chambers  of 
Commerce  and  Agricultural  Councils,  etc.,  but,  in 
addition  to  the  foregoing,  and  in  order  to  ensure  a 
permanent  government  majority,  a  score  of  members 
were  to  be  nominated  by  the  Kaiser.  One  and  all 
were  to  retain  their  positions  for  five  years.  The 
Lower  Chamber  was  to  be  elected  by  direct  suffrage, 
and  on  first  assembling  in  1911  it  comprised  twenty 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  party,  thirteen 
particularist  Lorrainers,  ten  Liberal  Democrats,  and 
eleven  Socialists.  In  the  Staatshandbuch  for  1914 
I  find  a  dozen  French  names  among  the  members 
of  these  Chambers.  For  instance,  the  second  Vice- 
President  of  the  upper  one  was  Dr.  Gregoire,  and  the 
first  Vice-President  of  the  lower  one,  M.  Labroise. 
But  a  good  many  members  with  Germanic  names 
were  undoubtedly  sound  patriots.  As  the  initiative 
of  law-making  rested  with  the  Statthalter,  acting  for 
the  Emperor,  the  powers  of  the  so-called  Landtag 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  were  necessarily  very  limited,  and 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  describe  such  a  regime  as  one 
of  self-government. 

The  administration  set  up  by  the  new  Constitution 
comprised  four  principal  departments,  the  Interior ; 
Justice  and  Religion ;  Finance,  Commerce,  and  Im- 
perial Domains ;  and  Agriculture  and  Labour.  In 
1914  the  Kaiserlicher  Statthalter  was  still  Dr.  von 
Dallwitz,*  and  Count  von  Roedern  was  Secretary  of 
State  and  Minister  of  the  Interior.  During  the  year 
ending  March  31,  1917,  the  total  revenue  of  the 

*  Before  him  the  successive  Governors  of  Alsace-Lorraine  were  Field- 
Marshal  von  Manteuffel  (October  1879),  Prince  Clovis  von  Hohenlohe  (1885), 
Prince  von  Hohenlohe-Langenburg  (October  1894),  and  the  Count  von  Wedel 
mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  Saverne  affair. 

T 


290  THE    TRUE    STORY    OF 

provinces  was  £4,126,615.  At  the  last  census 
(1910)  the  population  included  1,428,343  Catholics, 
408,274  Protestants,  3868  members  of  other  Christian 
denominations,  and  30,483  Jews.  When  the  present 
Great  War  began  the  garrison  was  composed  of  over 
80,000  men.  It  included  Badeners,  Saxons,  Silesians, 
and  Alsatian  detachments  of  the  14th  and  15th  Army 
Corps,  under  General  von  Deimling,  whose  chief  of 
staff  was  Count  von  Waldersee.  At  Metz  there  was 
the  16th  Army  Corps  under  General  von  Mudra,  and 
there  were  also  some  men  of  the  21st  Corps  at  Sarre- 
bruck  and  Sarrebourg.  Apart  from  the  last  named, 
the  garrison  included  nine  brigades  of  infantry,  five 
brigades  of  cavalry,  and  seven  artillery  regiments. 
Thus  a  strong  force  (double  that  of  1880)  was  kept 
in  the  provinces,  far  less  from  any  fear  of  sudden 
French  aggression  than  in  order  to  impose  the  German 
will  on  a  people  which  obeyed  it  with  regret. 

A  mock  constitution  and  a  formidable  garrison, 
such  before  this  war  was  the  final  German  answer  to 
all  the  bitter  discontent  so  long  prevailing  in  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  M.  Roudolphi.  in  a  letter  to  which  I  have 
directed  attention,*  rightly  stated  that  "in  1887, 
after  sixteen  years  of  the  new  regime,  the  progress  of 
the  conquerors  having  been  absolutely  negative,  a 
reign  of  terror  began,  which  has  not  its  equal  in  the 
annals  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Every  society, 
artistic,  sporting,  and  even  scientific,  suspected  of 
French  leanings  was  dissolved,  prosecutions  for  high 
treason  and  similar  offences  were  as  numerous  as  the 
pebbles  on  the  shore,  and  communication  with  France 
was  rendered  practically  impossible.  This  era,  the 
so-called  c  stillness  of  the  dead,'  when  every  voice 

*  See  foot-note  on  p.  273,  ante. 


ALSACE-LORRAINE  291 

was  silenced,  and  every  movement  watched  by  the 
secret  police,  lasted  for  fifteen  long  years." 

I  will  add  little  to  this  long  narrative  in  which  I 
have  endeavoured  to  give  a  sketch  of  many  topo- 
graphical, historical,  racial,  linguistic,  and  other 
matters  pertaining  to  Alsace-Lorraine.  The  country 
is  virtually  terra  incognita  to  most  British  readers, 
and  I  shall  feel  amply  rewarded  for  my  labours  if  I 
succeed  in  making  more  than  its  name  known  to  them. 
During  the  present  war  the  French  have  won  back  a 
small  portion  of  the  annexed  land  by  force  of  arms, 
but  it  must  be  restored  to  them  in  its  entirety.  That 
is  the  desire  of  virtually  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  old 
stock,  arid  of  their  kith  and  kin  wrho  live  far  away  in 
exile.  There  can  be  no  compromise  with  Germany 
on  this  question.  France  will  accept  none.  Un- 
happily a  small  number  of  people  among  us  still  seem 
desirous  of  accepting  an  inconclusive  peace.  Selfishly 
thinking  only  of  themselves,  they  are  ready  to  sacrifice 
the  highest  interests  of  posterity,  and  those,  also, 
of  our  comrades  in  arms.  There  are  some  people  who, 
whilst  admitting  that  the  German  occupation  of 
Belgium  is  a  pistol  pointed  at  the  head  of  Britain, 
fail,  apparently,  to  realize  that  the  German  occupation 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  has  been  a  pistol  pointed  at  the 
head  of  France  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Further, 
there  are  even  those — it  cannot  be  gainsaid — who 
would  callously  leave  France  in  the  lurch  with  respect 
to  her  most  important,  her  paramount  claim.  This 
must  not  be.  Should  Great  Britain  desert  her  noble 
and  valiant  ally  the  direst  consequences  would  follow. 
I,  for  one,  am  fully  convinced  that  she  will  never  do  so, 
but  will  continue  fighting  until  Alsace-Lorraine,  like 
other  lands,  shall  have  been  finally  and  fully  delivered 
from  the  odious  yoke  of  the  modern  Hun. 


APPENDIX  A 

PLACE-NAMES  DIFFERING  IN  FRENCH 
AND  GERMAN 

BELOW  will  be  found  two  lists  of  Alsatian  and  Lorrainer  place- 
names  which  have  been  changed  since  the  annexation  in  1871. 
In  some  instances  the  alterations  have  been  slight,  but  in  some 
others  the  difference  is  great.  The  French  terminals  vilU  and 
wilier  (from  the  Latin  villa  and  villare)  have  become  weiler  in 
German.  Bourg  also  has,  not  unnaturally,  been  changed  to 
burg.  It  is  not  claimed  that  the  following  lists  are  complete, 
nevertheless  they  may  prove  useful  for  the  identification  of  some 
of  the  localities  mentioned.  In  the  first  list  the  French  and 
in  the  second  the  German  names  are  given  in  the  first  column 
alphabetically,  their  equivalents  appearing  in  the  second  one. 


French  German 

Alsace  Elsass 

Aubure  Altweier 

Ban  de  la  Roche  Steinthal 

Belmagny  Bernetzweiler 

Bischwiller  Bitschweiler 

Bitche  Bitsch 

Bonhomme,  Le  Diedolshausen 

Boulay  Bolchen 

Bouxwiller  Buchsweiler 

Broque,  La  Vorbriick 

Cernay  Sennheim 

Chateau-Salins  Salzburg 

Chatenois  Kestenholz 

Chavannes-sur-1'Etang  Schaffnat-am-Weiher 

Courtavon  Ottendorf 

Dabo  Dagsburg 

Eteimbes  Welschensteinbach 

Faulquemont  Falkenberg 

293 


294 


APPENDIX  A 


French 
Fenestrange 
Ferrette 
Fouday 
Guebwiller 
Haguenau 
Huningue 
Levoncourt 
Liepvre  and  Lievre 
Longueville 
Lorquin 
Lorraine 

Main-du-Prince,  La 
Marmoutier 
Massevaux 
Montreux 
Mulhouse 
Neubois 
Neuf-Brisach 
Obernai 
Orbey 

Petite-Pierre,  La 
Phalsbourg 
Porcelette 
Poultroie,  La 
Ribeaupierre 
Ribeauville 
Riquewihr 
Romagny 
Rouffach 
Saint-Hippolyte 
Saint-Louis 

Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines 
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines 
Sainte-Odile 
Sarralbe 
Sarreguemines 
Sarre,  the 
Saverne 
Schlestadt 
Soultz-les-Bains 
Soultz-sous-Forets 
Thionville 


German 
Finstingen 
Pfirt 
Urbach 
Gebweiler 
Hagenau 
Huningen 
Luffendorf 
Leberau 
Longeville 
Lorehingen 
Lothringen 
Herzogshand 
Maursmiinster 
Masmtinster 
Miinsterol 
Miilhausen 
Gereuth 
Neu  Breisach 
Oberehnheim 
Urbeis 
Liitzelstein 
Pfalzburg 
Porselt 
Schmerlach 
Rappoltstein 
Rappoltsweiler  * 
Reichenweier 
Willern 

Rufach  and  Ruffach 
Sankt  Pilt 
Sankt  Ludwig 
Sankt  Kreuz  im  Leberthal 
Markirch 
Odilienberg 
Saaralben 
Saargemtind 
Saar 
Zabern 
Schlettstadt 
Sulzbad 

Sulz-untenn-Walde 
Diedenhofen 


Rapperschweir  in  the  local  dialect. 


APPENDIX  A 


295 


French 

Trois-Fontaines 
Val-de-Ville 
Valdieu 
Vancelle,  La 
Ville 

Vosges,  the 
Wasselonne 
Wesserling 
Wihr-au-Val 
Wissembourg 
Xouaxange 


German 
Dreibrunnen 
Weilerthal 
Gottesthal 
Wanzel 
Wciler 

Wasigen  and  Wasgenwald 
Wasselnheim 
Hiisseren 
Weier  im  Thai 
Weissenburg 
Schweizingen 


II 


German 
Altweier 
Bcrnctzweiler 
Bitsch 
Bitschweiler 
Bolchen 
Buchsweiler 
Dagsburg 
Diedenhofen 
Diedolshausen 
Dreibrunnen 
Elsass 
Falkenberg 
Finstingen 
Gebweiler 
Gereuth 
Gottesthal 
Hagcnau 
Herzogshand 
Huningen 
Hiisseren 
Kestenholz 
Leberau 
Lorchingen 
Lothringen 
Luffendorf 
Liitzclstein 
Markirch 


French 


Aubure 

Belmagny 

Bitche 

Bischwiller 

Boulay 

Bouxwiller 

Dabo 

Thionville 

Le  Bonhomme 

Trois-Fontaines 

Alsace 

Faulquemont 

Fenestrange 

Guebwiller 

Neubois 

Valdieu 

Haguenau 

La  Main-du-Prince 

Huningue 

Wesserling 

Chatenois 

Liepvre  and  Lievre 

Lorquin 

Lorraine 

Levoncourt 

La  Petite-Pierre 

Saint  e-Marie-aux-Min  es 


296 


APPENDIX  A 


German 
Masmflnster 
Maursmiinster 
Miilhausen 
Miinstcrol 
Neu  Breisach 
Obercnheim 
Odilienberg 
Ottendorf 
Pfalzburg 
Pfirt 
Porselt 
Rappoltstein 
Rappoltsweiler 
Reichenweier 
Rufach  and  Ruffach 
Saar 

Saargemiind 
Salzburg 

Sankt  Kreuz  im  Leberthal 
Sankt  Ludwig 
Sankt  Pilt 

Schaffnat-am-Weiher 
Schlettstadt 
Schmerlach 
Schweizingen 
Sennheim 
Stcinthal 
Sulzbad 

Sulz-unterm-Walde 
Urbach 
Urbeis 
Vorbruck 
Wanzel 

Wasigen  and  Wasgenwald 
Wasselnheim 
Weier  im  Thai 
Weilerthal 
Weissenburg 
Welschensteinbach 
Willern 
Zabern 


French 
Massevaux 
Marmoutier 
Mulhouse 
Montreux 
Neuf-Brisach 
Obernai 
Sainte-Odile 
Courtavon 
Phalsbourg 
Ferrette 
Porbelette 
Ribeaupierre 
Ribeauville 
Riquewihr 
Rouffach 
Sarre 

Sarreguemines 
Chateau-Sal  ins 
Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines 
Saint-Louis 
Saint-Hippolyte 
Chavannes-sur-1'Etang 
Schlestadt 
La  Poultroie 
Xouaxange 
Cernay 

Ban  de  la  Roche 
Soultz-les-Bains 
Soultz-sous-Forets 
Fouday 
Orbey 
La  Broque 
Varicelle 
Vosges,  the 
Wasselonne 
Wihr-au-Val 
Val-de-Ville 
Wissembourg 
Eteimbes 
Romagny 
Saverne 


APPENDIX  B 

STRASBURG  UNITED  TO  FRANCE 

Articles  proposed  by  the  Prcetors,  Consuls,  and  Magistrate  of  the 
Town  of  Strasburg,  the  SOth  September,  1681.* 

WE,  Fran£ois  Michel  de  [sic]  Tellier,  Marquis  of  Louvois, 
Secretary  of  State  and  of  his  Majesty's  Commandments,  and 
Joseph  de  Fonts,  Baron  of  Montclar,  Lieutenant-General  in  the 
Armies  of  the  King,  commanding  for  his  Majesty  in  Alsace,  by 
virtue  of  the  power  conferred  upon  vis  by  his  Majesty  to  receive 
the  town  of  Strasburg  into  obedience  under  him,  have  set  down 
the  annotations  [apostittes]  inscribed  below,  whereof  we  promise 
to  supply  his  Majesty's  Ratification,  and  to  hand  it  to  the  Magis- 
trate of  Strasburg,  between  now  and  ten  days'  time. 

I. — The  town  of  Strasburg,  following  the  example  of  Mr. 
[sic]  the  Bishop  of  Strasburg,  the  Count  of  Hanau,  the  Lord  of 
Fleckenstein,  and  the  nobility  of  Lower  Alsace,  recognizes  his 
Most  Christian  Majesty  as  its  Sovereign  Lord  and  Protector. 

Annotation. — The  King  receives  the  town  and  all  its  depen- 
dencies under  his  Royal  protection. 

II. — His  Majesty  shall  confirm  all  the  ancient  privileges, 
rights,  statutes,  and  customs  of  the  town  of  Strasburg,  ecclesias- 
tical as  well  as  political,  conformably  with  the  Treaty  of  Peace 
of  Westphalia,  confirmed  by  that  of  Nimeguen. 

Annotation. — Granted. 

III. — His  Majesty  shall  allow  the  free  exercise  of  Religion, 
as  has  been  the  case  from  the  year  1624  until  now,  with  possession 
of  all  churches  and  schools,  and  will  not  allow  anybody  what- 
soever to  raise  any  pretensions  either  to  ecclesiastical  property 
or  to  any  foundations  or  convents — that  is  to  say,  the  Abbey  of 
Saint-Etienne,  the  Chapter  of  Saint-Thomas,  Saint-Marc,  Saint- 
Guillaume,  the  Tous-Saints,  and  all  others  included  or  not 

*  "  Articles  proposez  par  les  Preteurs,  Consuls  et  Magistrat  de  la  Ville  de 
Strasbourg,  le  30  Septembre,  1681."  A  Paris,  au  Bureau  d'Adresse,  aux 
Galeriea  du  Louvre.  MDCLXXXF.  Avec  Privilege  du  Roy. 

297 


298  APPENDIX  B 

included  [within  the  town  ?.],  but  shall  for  all  time  preserve  them 
to  the  town  and  its  inhabitants. 

Annotation. — Granted  in  respect  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  that 
pertains  to  ecclesiastical  property,  in  accordance  with  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  Treaty  of  Miinster,  with  this  reserve,  that  the 
fabric  of  the  Church  of  Our  Lady,  formerly  called  the  Dom 
(cathedral),  shall  be  restored  to  the  Catholics  ;  notwithstanding 
which  his  Majesty  approves  that  they  [the  Protestants]  shall 
make  use  of  the  bells  of  the  said  church  for  all  purposes  heretofore 
customary,  except  only  that  of  ringing  them  to  prayers. 

IV. — His  Majesty  shall  leave  the  Magistrature  in  its  present 
state,  with  all  its  rights,  including  the  free  election  of  its  colleges, 
namely,  that  of  the  Thirteen,  that  of  the  Fifteen,  and  that  of  the 
Twenty-One,  together  with  the  Large  and  Small  Senates,  the 
Echevins,  the  officers  of  the  town  and  the  Chancellery,  the  eccle- 
siastical convents,  the  University  with  all  its  doctors,  professors, 
and  students  of  whatever  category  they  be,  the  [trade  or  pro- 
fessional] college,  classifications,  and  masterships  all  as  they 
are  now,  together  with  the  [present]  Civil  and  Criminal  Juris- 
dictions. 

Annotation. — Granted,  with  the  reserve  that  in  all  lawsuits 
in  which  the  capital  amount  [sued  for]  shall  exceed  one  thousand 
livres  of  France  [dr.  £40]  an  appeal  to  the  Council  of  Brisach 
shall  be  allowed,  without,  however,  the  appeal  suspending  the 
execution  of  the  judgment 'which  may  have  been  delivered  by 
the  Magistrate  [of  Strasburg]  should  no  sum  exceeding  two 
thousand  livres  of  France  [dr.  £80]  be  in  question. 

V. — His  Majesty  also  grants  to  the  town  that  all  its  revenues, 
taxes,  [land]  tolls,  bridge-tolls,  commercial  rights,  and  customs 
[douane]  shall  be  preserved  to  it,  with  all  liberty  to  enjoy  the 
same  as  heretofore,  together  with  the  free  disposal  of  the  Pfen- 
ningthurn  and  the  Mint,  and  the  magazines  [stores]  of  cannon, 
munitions,  and  weapons,  both  those  which  are  in  the  Arsenal  and 
those  which  are  on  the  ramparts  and  in  the  houses  of  burgesses, 
together  with  the  magazines  [stores]  of  grain,  timber,  coal,  tallow, 
and  all  others,  the  bells  [of  the  town],  and  also  the  Archives 
with  the  documents  and  papers  of  whatever  nature  they  be. 

Annotation. — Granted,  with  the  reserve  that  the  cannon, 
munitions  of  war,  and  arms  in  the  public  stores  shall  be  placed 
in  the  power  of  his  Majesty's  officers,  and  as  regards  the  weapons 
belonging  to  private  people,  that  they  shall  be  deposited  at 
the  town  hall  in  a  room  whereof  the  Magistrate  shall  keep  the 
kev. 


APPENDIX  B  299 

VI. — All  the  burgesses  shall  remain  exempt  from  all  taxes  and 
other  payments.  His  Majesty  shall  leave  all  imposts,  ordinary 
or  extraordinary,  to  the  town  for  its  maintenance. 

Annotation. — Granted. 

VII. — His  Majesty  shall  leave  to  the  town  and  citizens  of 
Strasburg  the  free  enjoyment  of  the  bridge  over  the  Rhine  and 
of  all  the  towns,  bourgs,  villages,  and  lands  that  belong  to  them, 
and  will  graciously  grant  the  town  Letters  of  Respite  against  all 
creditors,  whether  in  the  Empire  or  elsewhere. 

Annotation. — Granted. 

VIII. — His  Majesty  also  grants  an  Amnesty  for  all  the  past, 
both  to  public  and  to  private  persons  without  any  exception, 
and  will  include  in  it  the  Prince  Palatine  de  Veldence  [sic\9  the 
Count  of  Nassau,  the  Resident  of  his  Imperial  Majesty,  all  the 
Hostels  [sic],  the  Brudcrhoff,  with  their  officers,  houses,  and 
iippurtenances. 

Annotation. — Granted. 

IX. — It  shall  be  allowable  for  the  town  to  erect  barracks  to 
lodge  the  troops  which  may  be  in  garrison. 
Annotation. — Granted. 

X. — The  King's  troops  shall  enter  the  town  to-day,  September 
30,  1681,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Done  at  Illkirch,  this  10  September  1681. 

Signed :  De  Louvois, 

Joseph  de  Ponts,  Baron  de  Montclar. 

Jean  George  de  Zedlitz,  Esquire  and  Praetor — 
Dominique  Dietrich — Johann  Leonard  Froreisen — 
Johann  Philippe  Schmidt — Daniel  Richshoffer — Jonas 
Storr — J.  Joachim  Franz — Christoffle  Giinzer. 

Various  points  arising  out  of  the  above  convention  have  been 
discussed  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  volume  (pp.  96  to  98,  ante), 
and  little  need  be  added  here.  The  description  of  Louvois  in 
the  preamble  as  de  Tellier  is  perhaps  merely  a  slip.  His  real 
patronymic  was  Le  Tellier,  but  he  may  have  substituted  de  for 
le,  or  a  secretary  may  have  done  so  on  the  ground  that  de  was 
the  customary  particle  among  members  of  the  nobility.  The 
German  Count  of  Hanau  and  the  Lord  of  Flecker)  stein  referred  to 
in  Clause  I  probably  held  fiefs  in  Alsace.  The  Pfenningthurn 
which  is  mentioned  in  Clause  V  may  possibly  have  been  some 


800  APPENDIX  B 

tower  where  certain  dues  or  tolls  were  levied.  Some  parts  of 
Clause  VIII  are  rather  obscure.  The  "  Prince  Palatine  de  Vel- 
dence  "  may  have  been  the  Palatine  of  the  Rhine  of  that  period, 
but  the  words  de  Veldence  are  puzzling.  There  is,  however,  a 
small  place  called  Veldenz,  near  Berncastel  in  the  Moselle  wine 
country,  and  some  Palatine  may  have  been  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Veldenz  lordship.  According  to  "L'Art  de  verifier  les 
Dates"  there  certainly  was  an  independent  House  of  Veldenz 
in  early  times.  The  Count  of  Nassau  who  is  mentioned  may 
well  have  been  William  of  Orange,  afterwards  our  William  III. 
He  was  a  confirmed  enemy  of  Louis  XIV,  and  may  have  urged 
Strasburg  to  maintain  its  independence  and  even  have  promised 
assistance  to  that  effect.  The  Bruderhoff  was  possibly  an  associa- 
tion. It  is  more  difficult  to  suggest  an  explanation  of  the  ex- 
pression "all  the  Hostels."  Hostels,  however,  must  have 
signified  mansions  (hotels),  not  asylums  or  inns,  and  the  reference 
was  possibly  to  all  the  nobles  dwelling  in  abodes  of  this  descrip- 
tion. Clause  IX  may  be  explained  by  the  town's  desire  to 
prevent  the  garrison  from  being  billeted  on  the  inhabitants. 
In  Clause  X  will  be  found  the  words,  "  to-day,  September  30," 
whereas  immediately  afterwards  one  reads,  "  Done  at  Illkirch 
this  10  September."  This  seeming  contradiction  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  assuming  that  the  date  on  which  the  French 
troops  were  to  enter  Strasburg  was  left  blank  when  the  Proposals 
were  originally  drafted,  and  inserted  in  the  document  when 
everything  had  been  finally  agreed  upon. 


INDEX 

Note.  In  the  following  references  the  annexed  territory  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine  is  generally  designated  by  the  initials  A.-L.  Place-names 
are  usually  given  in  their  French  forms,  as  in  the  body  of  the  book, 
but  the  German  forms  will  be  found  in  Appendix  A.  Gallo- 
Roman  names  of  localities,  which  changed  at  different  periods 
(for  instance,  Brigainagus  became  Brocomagus)  are  not  indexed, 
but  many  of  them  will  be  found  in  chapter  vii,  where  place-names 
are  discussed. 


ABOUT,  EDMOND,  34 

Acad6mie  Stanislas,  180 

Accession  gifts  in  Lorraine,  165 

Adalric,  D.  of  Alsace,  36 

Adolphus  of  Nassau,  Emp.,  74 

Adultery,  penalties  for,  160 

Aetius,  64 

Agriculture  in  Lorraine,  176.  See 
also  Scarcity 

Alans,  the,  62,  63 

Albert  I,  Emp.,  78  ;  of  Alsace,  D.  of 
Lorraine,  146;  Archduke,  230; 
the  Rich,  88 

Alemanni,  the,  61  et  seq.,  64,  65 

Alexander  II  of  Russia,  281 ;  III,  284 

Alsace,  Albert  and  Gerard  of,  146, 
147  ;  dukes  of,  65,  83,  89 

Alsace,  generally,  9,  10  et  seq.  ;  towns 
and  noted  spots  in,  25  et  seq.  ;  its 
history  to  the  Treaty  of  West- 
phalia, 55  et  seq. ;  abandoned  by 
the  Romans,  62 ;  from  Treaty  of 
Westphalia  onward,  91  et  seq. 
See  also  Bourbons,  Caesar, 
Cholera,  Council,  Fruit,  Germans, 
Hapsburgs,  Latin,  Man,  Minstrels, 
Pagans,  Plague,  Protestants,  Rail- 
ways, Rebellions,  Reformation, 
Rivers,  Roads,  Russia,  Scarcity, 
Storks,  Vosges,  Wines 


Alsace-Lorraine  (annexed  territory) 
area,  9 ;  divisions  of,  10,  25,  26  ; 
elections  in,  264  ;  emigration  from, 
268  et  seq. ;  German  garrison  in, 
290  ;  German  officials  in,  270,  275  ; 
population,  9,  271,  290;  protests 
against  annexation,  264  et  seq.  ; 
religions  in,  290  ;  revenue  of,  290  ; 
under  the  Germans  generally,  267 
et  seq.  See  also  Beer,  Canals, 
Catholic,  Celts,  Coal,  Conscrip- 
tion, Constitution,  Crops,  Deputies, 
Dialects,  Education,  Emigration, 
Forests,  Freemasons,  French,  Fruit, 
Germans,  Industries,  Iron,  Jews, 
Landtag,  Language,  Latin,  Live 
stock,  Manufactures,  Place-names, 
Prisons,  Railways,  Rivers,  Sieges, 
Textiles,  Tobacco,  Vosges,  Welsch, 
Zones 

Alsatia,  Whitefriars,  71 

Alsatians,  the,  their  characteristics, 
98,  106,  107,  198  et  seq. ;  cos- 
tumes, 200;  famous  men,  224  et 
seq.  ;  their  attachment  to  France, 
226 ;  penalized  for  joining  the 
French  army,  262;  as  German 
conscripts,  270,  271 ;  their  first 
deputies  in  the  Reichstag,  277 
et  seq. 


301 


302 


INDEX 


Alt  Breisach,  60,  214,  248 

Altkirch,  45 

Andlau,  37 

Anjou,  its  rulers,  147,  148 

Anna  Ivanovna,  Empress,  168 

Annexation  of  A.-L.,  205,  229,  264 


Anthony,  D.  of  Lorraine,  34,  81,  149 

Apponyi,  Ct.,  126 

Apremont,  Mile,  d',  155 

Argensons,  the  d',  107 

Ariovistus,  57  et  seq.,  214 

Armagnacs  in  Alsace,  79 

Arminius,  59 

Army  recruits  in  Lorraine,  177,  189 

Arnoul  or  Arnulf,  Emp.,  144 

Ars-sur-Moselle,  21,  261 

Articles  for  the  union  of  Strasburg, 

96  et  seq.,  297  et  seq. 
Attila,  64,  145,  218 
Augsburg    League,     104.     See    also 

Treaties 

Augustus,  Emp.,  59 
Augustus  II  of  Saxony,  167 ;    III, 

167,  168 

Aurelian,  Emp.,  61 
Austrasia,  65,  173 
Austria  threatens  to  seize  Alsace, 

126;  in '70,  230 

BACCARAT,  glass-works,  162,  186,  260 

Bach,  Herr,  276 

Balfour  of  Burleigh,  Lord,  272 

Ballons  of  the  Vosges,  14 

Ban  de  la  Roche,  35,  36,  109 

Baner,  Gl.  J.  G.,  84 

Bar,  county,  later  duchy,  145, 147, 172 

Baraguey  d'Hilliers,  Ml.,  244,  252 

Barr,  town,  37,  38,  259 

Barras,  Paul  de,  114 

Bartholdi,  F.  A.,  30,  39,  258 

Basle,  13,  60,  80,  95,  96,  111,  134 

Baum,  pastor,  138 

Bavaria  annexes  Landau  region,  191, 

193,  194 
Bazaine,  Achille,  Ml.,  48,  234,  235, 

252  to  255 

Beauharnais,  Gl.  Alex,  de,  111 
Beer  in  A.-L.  and  Bavaria,  20 


Belfort,  10,  13,  121  et  seq.,  208,  255, 

269;  sieges  of ,  256  to  258 
Belgium,  the  neutrality  of,  5  to  8, 

236,  291 

Belle-Isle,  Ml.  de,  49 
Benedetti,  Ct.,  6,  7 
Bernard  of  Saxe-Weimar,  83 
Besanyon,  58,  111 
Bethmann-Hollweg,  Dr.  v.,  288 
Beyer,  Gl.  v.,  237 
Bicentenary  of  Alsatian  union  with 

France,  128 

Biedermann,  Prof.,  127 
Bischer,  a  veteran,  262 
Bishops,   of    Lower   Lorraine,    146. 

See  also  Metz  and  Strasburg 
Bishoprics,the  Three,  47, 149,  151, 163 
Bismarck,  Pr.  v.,  5  to  8,  130,  134, 

196,  206,   210,   228  to  230,   238, 

252,  258,  267  et  seq.,  276,  277,  279 

to  282,  284 

Bismarck-Bohlen,  Ct.  v.,  276 
Bitche,  52,  53,   177,  231,  232;    its 

siege  in  '70,  248  et  seq. 
Blanc,  Louis,  265,  266 
Blasphemy,  penalties  for,  160,  161 
Boeck,  R.,  138,  205,  206 
Bonhomme,  Le,  40 
Bonnin,  Herr  v.,  260,  261 
Bossier,  L.,  214 
Boufflers,  Chev.  de,  188;   Marq.  de, 

181 

Bouille,  Marq.  de,  188,  189 
Boulanger,  GL,  282  to  284 
Boulay  de  la  Meurthe,  A.  and  H.,  194 
Bourbaki,  Gl.,  263 
Bourbons,  Catherine  de,  152 ;  D.  de, 

105  ;  unpopular  in  Alsace,  120,  121 
Bouxieres,  chapter  of,  187 
Bouxwiller,  34 
Boyer,  Gl.,  253 
Brabant,  duchy  of,  145 
Brachycephalic  skulls,  144,  202 
Breisach,  Brisach,  see  Alt  and  Neuf 
Brendel,  Bp.  of  Strasburg,  110 
Brignon  affair,  285 
Broglie,  Ml.  de,  107 
Bruat,  Adm.,  39,  224 
Brumath,  60,  213 


INDEX 


303 


Bruno,  Abp.,  145,  146 
Brunswick,  D.  of,  111 
Burgundians,  the,  63 
Burgundy,  D.  of,  see  Charles  the  Rash 


JULIUS,  in  Alsace,  57  et  seq. 
Callot,  Jacques,  153 
Calonne,  C.  A.  de,  115 
Canals  in  A.-L.,  12,  13,  126 
Canrobert,  Ml.,  234 
Cantecroix,  Beatrix  de,  155 
Capet,    Beatrix,    145  ;     Eudes,    67  ; 

Hugh,  145,  146 
Caracalla,  Emp.,  61 
Carlos,  K.  of  Naples,  168,  170 
Carnot,  Lazare,  190 
Caron,  Col.,  123 
Carrel,  Armand,  121 
Catherine  the  Great,  45 
Catholic  clergy  in  A.-L.,  99,  103,  121, 

126,  157,  160,  161,  186,  192,  277 
Catholic  League,  151 
Cavaignac,  Gl.,  129,  195 
Cazeaux,  Abbe,  138,  206 
Celts  in  A.-L.,  56  et  seq.,  65,  66  213, 

214 

Cer^ay  documents,  229 
Cernay,  43,  83 

Chalons,  battle,  64  ;  camp,  196 
Chambres  de  Reunion,  92,  93 
Chamilly,  Ct.  de,  94  et  seq.,  102 
Chanzy,  Gl.,  263 
Chapters  of  noble  ladies,  187 
Charlemagne,  his  empire,  28,  46,  47, 

65,66 

Charles  of  Anjou,  147 
Charles  the  Bald,  Emp.,  47,  66  ;  the 

Fat,  38,  67  ;  IV,  74  ;  V,  47,  48,  81, 

149,  150,  151  ;    VI,  87,  165,  167, 

168,  171  ;  VII,  176 
Charles  the  Bold  of  Lorraine,  147  ; 

the  Great  or  III,  150,  151,  152,  157  ; 

IV,    153,    154  et  seq.  ;      V,    156  ; 

Cardinal,  82  ;  Prince,  164,  167,  176 
Charles  the  Rash  of  Burgundy,  46, 

79,  80,  149 
Charles  the  Simple  of  France,  67,  68, 

144  ;  X,  123,  124 
Charles  XII  of  Sweden,  168,  172 


Charles  Edward,  see  Pretender 
Charles  Martel,  65 
Chateauroux,  Dss.  de,  106, 159, 178 
Chateau-Salins,  53,  54,  186,  223 
Chateau vieux  Switzers,  189 
Chatelet,  Mme.  du,  182 
Chatterers'  Stone,  44 
Cheese  of  Miinster,  etc.,  20 
Chevaux,  grands,  see  Chivalry 
Chivalry  of  Lorraine,  147,  181,  225, 

226 

Chnodomir,  62 
Choiseul,  D.  de,  70 
Choiseul-Stainville,  Ml.  de,  107, 185 
Cholera  in  Alsace,  130 
Christina  of  Saxony,  182 
Church  Councils  at  Metz,  159,  160 
Cities,  free,  see  Free 
Civilis,  his  rebellion,  59 
Claude  of  Lorraine,  153,  154,  156 
Clemenceau,  George,  266 
Clergy,  see  Catholic 
Clothaire,  65 
Clovis,  28,  64,  218 
Coal  in  A.-L.,  21,  44 
Colmar,  17,  23,  38,  39,  40,  122,  247 
Commercy,  163,  171 
Conde,  Louis  II,  Pr.  de,  85,  91 
Confederation,  Rhenish,  71 
Conrad  I,  K.  of  Germany,  68;    the 

Red,  145 

Conradin  (Conrad  V),  72 
Conscription  in  A.-L.,  270,  271 ;    in 

France,  118 

Constans  II,  Emp.,  61,  62 
Constant,  Benj.,  121 
Constantia,  Pr.,  72 
Constantino,  Chlorus,  61 ;  the  Great, 

61 

Constitution  of  A.-L.,  288,  289 
Contades,  Ml.  de,  31,  107 
Cosmo  III  of  Tuscany,  168 
Coucy,  Enguerrand  VII  de,  76,  77  ; 

castle,  76 

Council  of  Alsace,  105.     See  Church 
Coup  d'Etat,  Louis  Napoleon's,  130, 

131,  195 

Court,  see  Sovereign 
Cowell,  H.  J.,  275 


304 


INDEX 


Crimea  and  penalties  in  Lorraine,  160, 

161,  187 
Crops   in   A.-L.,    19,    20.    See   also 

Scarcity 

DALLWITZ,  Dr.  v.,  288,  289 
Daniel,  William  I  as,  49,  50 
Decapolis  League,  74,  75 
Decentius,  62 
Decker,  Gl.  v.,  238 
Deimling,  Gl.  v.,  290 
Denfert-Rochereau,   Col.,   256,    257, 

264 
Deputies  of  A.-L.  in  '71,  264;    at 

Reichstag  in  '74,  277,  279 
Derby,  Earl  of,  281 
Deroulede,  Paul,  282 
Desaix,  Gl.,  30 
Dettingen,  battle,  177 
Dialects:    Picard,  204;    in  Alsace, 

208    et   seq.,    217,    218,    221;     in 

Lorraine,  204,  218,  219 
Dietrich.  Dominique,  92  et  seq.,  100, 

103,  104,  299  ;  Philippe  de,  Baron, 

30,33,52,109,110,111 
Dieuze,  53,  54,  176,  212 
Disraeli,  B.,  5 
Dolichocephalic  skull,  144 
Dolmen  in  the  Vosges,  56 
Domremy,  184 
Doraach,  43 
Douay,  Gl.  Abel,  231 
Dubarry,  Mme.,  174 
Ducrot,  GL,  236 
Dufour,  Gl.,  133 
Dupont  de  1'Eure,  121 
Dukes  of  Alsace,  67,  68  ;  of  Lorraine, 

145,     146,     147.    See    also    their 

respective  names 

EDUCATION  in  A.-L.,  157,  161,  180, 
185,  221  to  223,  268,  273,  274,  280 

Edict  of  Nantes,  99,  103 

Edward  III  of  England,  77 

Eguisheim,  41,  55 

Ehrenvest,  see  Ariovistus 

Eleanor,  Dss.  of  Lorraine,  164,  166 

Elizabeth-Charlotte,  Dss.  of  Lorraine, 
157,  164  to  167,  171 


Emigration,  see  Alsace-Lorraine 
Emigres,  French,  110,  112,  188 
Empire,  Holy  Roman,  dignities  in, 

170 

Engelburg  castle,  42 
English  invaders  of  A.-L.,  alleged, 

75,76 

Ensisheim,  39,  42,  91, 105 
Epinal,  189 
Erasmus,  74 

Erekmann-Chatrian,  139,  140,  246 
Ernsthausen,  Prefect,  276 
Erstein,  38,  259 
Exelmans,  Adm.,  232 

FABERT,  Ml.,  49 
Faidherbe,  Gl.,  263 
Failly,  Gl.  de,  231,  232,  248 
Falcandus  quoted,  72 
Favre,  Jules,  130,  206,  228 
Federation  of  the  Rhine,  110.    See 

also  Confederation 
Fenestrange,  52,  212 
Ferdinand  II,  Emp.,  84  ;  III,  83,  84, 

85,  87,  90 

Ferdinand  Charles,  Landgrave,  87,  88 
Ferrette,  45,  46,  87 ;   counts  of,  77, 

78,  147,  255 

Ferry  I  of  Bar  and  Lorraine,  145 
Fleury,  D.  de,  174 
Flourens,  Leopold,  283,  284 
Fontenoy  village,  261 
Forbach  engagement,  232 
Forbin-Janson,  Bp.,  192 
Force,  D.  de  La,  153 
Forests,  Alsatian,  15,  16 
Forstner,  Lieut.,  287,  288 
Fortresses  by  Vauban,  26,  51,  53,  102 
Foy,  GL,  121 
France,  Alsatian  attachment  to,  226  ; 

building  up  of,  2  ;  emigration  from, 

272,  273  ;  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
.    82  et  seq.  ;   material  prosperity  of, 

134  to  136.     See  also  French 
Francis  I  of  Lorraine,  150  ;   II,  153  ; 

III,  165,  166  et  seq.,  169,  170,  171 
Francis  Stephen,  see  Francis  III 
Francs-tireurs,  247,  248,  260,  262,  265 
Franks,  the,  64,  65,  67 


INDEX 


805 


Frederick  I  (Barbarossa)  Emp.,  71, 

88;  11,71 

Frederick,  Cr.  Pr.  of  Prussia,  231,  234 
Frederick  Charles  of  Prussia,  Pr.,  234, 

253,  260 
Frederick  William  III  of  Prussia,  132 ; 

IV,  132  et  seq. 
Free  cities,  71,  74,  79,  98 
Freemasons  of  A.-L.,  276 
French  language  in  A.-L.,  105,  106, 

125,  140,  221  to  223,  274,  276 
Frischmann,  envoy,  93 
Frossard,  GL,  52,  231,  232 
Fruit  in  Alsace,  16 
Fiirstenberg,  F.  E.  v.,  Bp.,  93,  101  ; 

Wilhelm,  Bp.,  101 

GALAIZIEBE,  Chaumont  de  La,  174 
to  180,  184 

Gambetta,  Leon,  141,  263,  264,  266 

Garibaldi,  263 

Gauzer,  see  Giinzer 

Gavard,  M.,  281 

George  II  of  Grt.-Brit.,  164,  176 

Gerard  of  Alsace,  146 

Germanicus,  59 

Germans  :  their  claims  to  A.-L.,  138, 
139,  205 ;  their  early  invasions  of 
A.-L.,  57  »i  seq.,  214,  216,  218,  220, 
221  ;  their  exactions,  thefts,  out- 
rages, tyranny,  etc.,  in  A.-L.,  259, 
260,  261,  263,  290  ;  their  language 
in  A.-L.,  105,  274  ;  hated  in  A.-L., 
223,  226 ;  their  officials  in  A.-L., 
270,  275;  planted  in  A.-L.,  269 
et  seq.,  275 

Geroldseck,  W.  of,  Bp.,  72 

Gladstone,  W.  E.,  56 

Glass-workers  of  Lorraine,  149 

Goblet,  Rene,  283 

Goddess  Reason,  112 

Gordon,  Mme.,  125 

Gratian,  Emp.,  62 

Gravelotte  battle,  234 

Great  Britain  and  Alsace  (1814),  120 ; 
and  Belgium  (1870),  5,  6  ;  and  war 
of  1870-71,  4  to  8 

Gregoire,  Abbe,  190 

Gregory  IV,  Pope,  66 


Grosjean,  J.,  264,  265 
Guebwiller,  14,  23,  42 
Guises,  the,  48,  151,  152,  225 
Guizot,  126 
Giinzer,  93,  96,  299 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  82 
Gutenberg,  29,  240 

HAGENBACH,  P.  v.,  80 
Haguenau,  32,  71,  111,  260 
Hanau,  Ct.  of,  299 
Hapsburgs  and  Alsace,  69,  77,  78,  86  ; 

their    lineage,    88,    89.     See    also 

names  of  Emperors 
Harcourt,  Henri,  Ct.  d',  70 
Hartmannsweiler  Peak,  15,  43 
Helvetus,  60 
Henri  II  of  France,  47,  150,   151  ; 

III,  151,  152  ;  IV,  152 
Henry  I  (the  Fowler),  Emp.,  68  ;  IV, 

68  ;  VI,  69,  72 
Herbette,  M.,  284 
Hermann  (Arminius),  59 
Herrade,  Abbess,  32 
Hohenlohe,  Pr.  C.  v.,  289  ;   Langen- 

burg,  289 

Hohenstaufens,  the,  68,  72 
Hohenburg  Abbey,  32 
Hohenzollern,  John  George  of,  82 
Honorius,  Emp.,  62 
Horburg  fight,  60,  247 
Horn,  Ct.  Gustavus,  82,  83 
Huck,  Comt.,  251 
Hugh,  D.  of  Alsace,  67,  144 
Hugo,  GL  Sigisbert,  and  Victor,  224, 

265,  266 

Huninge'n  (Huningue),  22 
Huns,  the,  63,  64,  145,  218 

ILL,  river,  11,  12 

Illkirch,  97 

Industries,  modern,  in  A.-L.,  18,  21, 

22 

Iron  and  other  ores  in  A.-L.,  21 
Isabella,  Dss.  of  Lorraine,  147,  148 
Italy  in  '70,  230 

JABLONOWSKA,  Ctss.,  181 
Jacqueminot,  Col.,  193 

U 


306 


INDEX 


Jews    in   A.-L.,    290 ;     in    Lorraine 
formerly,  182  ;   at  Metz,  158,  159  ; 
at  Strasburg,  75 
Joan  of  Arc,  53,  184,  197 
Joan  of  Ferrette,  78 
John,  D.  of  Lorraine,  149 
John  Gaston  de'  Medici,  168,  170 
John  George  of  Hoheuzollem,  82 
Joseph  II,  Emp.,  170 
Josephine,  Empress,  31,  111 
Julian,  Emp.,  62 

KBHL  (Baden),  27,  92,  239,  242 
Keller-Haas,  deputy,  264,  265 
Kerhor,  Col.  de,  248 
Kestner,  deputy,  131 
Kiel  Canal,  238 
Kiepert,  Heinrich,  205 
Kitchener,  Lord.  4 
Klapperstein,  the,  44 
Kleber,  Gl.,  29,  43 
Koechlins,  the,  22,  23,  115,  121 
Kiiss,  M.,  254,  264 

LAFAYETTE,  Gl.  de,  122,  123 

Laloubere,  Marq.  de,  92 

Lambertye,  Marq.  de,  164 

Lambessa,  195,  196 

Landau,  190 

Landgraves  of  Alsace,  68,  69,  70 

Landtag  of  A.-L.,  288,  289 

Landvogts  of  Alsace,  69,  70 

Language  in  A.-L.,  203  et  seq.,  212  et 
seq. 

Larevelliere-Lepeaux,  114 

Latin  language  in  A.-L.,  213  to  218 

Lauth,  M.,  276 

Lavalette,  Card,  de,  84 

Laveau,  Jacobin,  112 

Leagues  :  of  Augsburg,  104  ;  French 
Catholic,  151 ;  French  League  of 
Patriots,  282,  285;  Patriotic 
League  of  Alsatian-Lorrainers,  272. 
See  also  Confederation,  Decapolis, 
and  Federation 

Lebas,  Joseph,  113 

Lecourbe,  GL,  256 

Leczinski,  see  Stanislas 


Leczinska,  Marie,  Q.  of  France,  167, 
183,  184 

Lefebvre,  Ml.,  41 

Le  Flo,  GL,  281 

Legrand,  Major,  256 

Leo  IX,  Pope,  41 

Leopold  I,  Emp.,  86,  98,  156,  165  ; 
II,  170 

Leopold  of  Austria,  Landgrave  of 
Alsace,  77 

Leopold,  D.  of  Lorraine,  156,  157, 
158,  163,  164 

Leopold  William  of  Austria,  Bp.  of 
Strasburg,  88,  89,  93 

"Lettres  Portugaises,"  94 

Lezay-Marnezia,  M.  de,  119,  120 

Lichtenberg,  John  of,  Bp.,  69 

Liege,  duchy  of,  145 

Lion  of  Belfort,  258 

L'Isle,  see  Rouget 

Live  stock  in  A.-L.,  20 

Livingstone,  Dr.,  282 

Lix,  Antoinette,  247 

Lobau,  ML,  193 

Lomenie  de  Brienne,  187 

Longwy,  154,  156,  163 ;  siege  in  '70, 
249,  250 

Lorraine  :  its  name,  47  ;  kingdom  of, 
10,  66,  67, 143, 144  ;  duchy  of,  145, 
146,  150  ;  Lower,  146  ;  geographi- 
cally, 10,  11,  18,  203;  old-time 
economic  conditions  in,  156,  162 ; 
assimilated  to  France,  157  ;  bar- 
tered for  Tuscany,  169 ;  ducal 
revenues  in,  167,  174 ;  accession 
of  Stanislas  in,  172 ;  united  to 
France,  184,  185.  See  also  Army, 
Chivalry,  Crimes,  Dialects,  Manu- 
factures, Nobility,  Population, 
Potatoes,  Republicanism,  Revo- 
lution, Rivers,  Scarcity,  Sovereign 
Court,  Taxation,  Witches 

Lorrainers,  physically,  202  ;  famous, 
224  et  seq.  ;  attached  to  their 
dukes,  165,  166,  171 ;  penalized 
for  joining  the  French  Army,  262 

Lothair  I,  Emp.  of  the  West,  47,  66 

Lothair  II,  King  of  Lotharingia,  47, 
66,  143,  144 


INDEX 


307 


Louis  I  (le  Debonnaire),  Emp.,  66 ; 

(the  Germanic),  47,  66,  67,   143, 

144  ;   IV  (the  Child),  67 
Louis  XI  of  France,  79  ;  XIII,  153  ; 

XIV,  40,  70,  84,  85,  87,  88,  97,  99, 
101,  103,  104,  105,  155,  156,  162  ; 

XV,  115,  159,  167,  170,  171,  174, 
178,  181 ;  XVI,  107,  108,  111,  188 

Louis  Philippe,  K.  of  the  French,  124, 

125,  128,  193,  194 
Louis  of  Anjou,  148 
Louis,  Card,  and  D.  of  Bar,  147 
Louis,  Baron,  193,  194 
Louvois,  Marq.  de,  94  to  97,  100,  101, 

297  et  seq. 
Luckner,  Ml.,  31 
Ludres,  Ctss.  de,  155 
Ludwig,  see  Louis 

Luneville,  163, 173, 181, 182, 186,  269 
Luxemburg,  duchy,  7 

MACMAHON,  Ml.  de,  195,  231,  232, 

234  to  236,  255,  281 
Maintenon,  Mme.  de,  103 
Maizidres,  50 

Man,  prehistoric,  in  Alsace,  55,  56 
Mancini,  Hortense,  70,  87 ;    Marie, 

156 

Mansfeld,  Ct.,  82 
Manteuffel,  Ml.  v.,  289 
Manuel,  E.,  121 
Manufactures  in  A.-L.,  21  et  seq.,  43, 

44,  50,  51,  63,  54;    in  Lorraine 

formerly,  162,  186i 
Marechal,  M.,  254 
Maria  Theresa,  Empress,  87, 168, 170, 

176,  177 

Marie,  heiress  of  Burgundy,  80 
Marie  Antoinette,  Q.,  107,  115,  170 
Marie  Josephe,  Dauphiness,  107,  115 
Marmoutier,  34 
"  Marseillaise,"  the,  30,  31 
Masseraux,  45 

Maximianus  Hercules,  Emp.,  61 
Maximilian  I,  Emp.,  80 
Maximilian  of  Mexico,  132 
Maximinus,  Emp.,  61 
Mazarin,  Card.,  70,  87,  88  ;  Duke,  70 
Mazeppa,  172 


Medici,  last  of  the,  170 

Menzel  the  Pandour,  106,  177 

Mercie,  A.,  258 

Mercy,  Ct.,  85 

Merovius,  64 

Mertens,  Gl.  v.,  238 

Metternich,  Prince,  126 

Metz,  46,  149  to  151,  159,  177,  178, 

185,    187,    190,    213,    218,    223; 

Jews  at,  158,  159 ;  patois  of,  218, 

219;    siege  of,  in   1552,  48;    in 

1870,  235,  237,  252  et  seq. 
M6zieres,  151 

Minstrels  and  musicians,  40 
Mirecourt,  191 
Moeller,  Dr.  v.,  276 
Molsheim,  35 
Moltke,  Ct.  v.,  206 
Monet,  Jacobin,  112  to  114 
Montbeliard,  Counts  of,  147 
Montclar,  Gl.  de,  92,  94,  101,   297   et 

seq. 

Montecuculli,  91 
Montmedy,  250 
Montpensier,  Mile,  de,  156 
Morsbronn,  232 
Moselle,  the,  12,  18 
Mudra,  Gl.  v.,  290 
Mulhouse,  22,  23,  43  to  45,  74,  75, 

86,  115,  118,  119,  124,  247  ;  united 

to  France,  114  et  seq. 
Munster  in  Alsace,  20,  41 
Munster  in  Westphalia,  85  ;   see  also 

Treaties 
Murbach  Abbey,  42 

NABERT,  Prof.,  205 

Names,  see  Place 

Nancy,  149,  154,  162,  180,  185,  186, 
188,  213  ;  during  war  of  1870,  233, 
260,  269 

Nantes,  edict  of,  99,  103,  158,  161 

Napoleon  I,  118,  119,  120,  129,  137, 
159,  169,  190,  191 ;  III,  3  to  8, 
124,  125,  129  et  seq.,  132,  134,  137, 
195,  196,  228  to  231,  233,  235,  236 

Napoleon  Jerome,  Pr.,  137 

Nationalities,  principle  of,  1  et  seq.,  1 

Neuf-Brisach,  41,  105,  121,  248 


308 


INDEX 


Neufchateau  (Vosges),  189 

Neufchatel  (Switzerland),  132  to  134 

Ney,  Ml.,  49,  191,  192 

Nicholas,  D.  of  Lorraine,  149 

Nicholas  Francis,  Card.,  D.  of  Lor- 
raine, 153,  154,  156 

Nicole,  Dss.  of  Lorraine,  152  to  155 

Niederbronn,  52 

Nimeguen,  see  Treaties 

Nobility  fees  in  Lorraine,  163.  See 
also  Chivalry 

Ndrdlingen,  83,  85 

OBEELIN,  J.  F.,  pastor,  35,  36  ;  J.  J., 
scholar,  35,  210 

Ochsenfeld,  17,  66,  83 

Old  Regime  in  France,  107,  174,  185 

Opalinska,  Catherine,  173,  177,  183 

Option,  see  Alsace-Lorraine,  emi- 
gration 

Orbey,  40,  209 

Orleans,  Gaston,  D.  of,  153  ;  Philip  I, 
D.  of,  166 

Osnabriick,  85,  86 

Ossolinska,  Dss.,  185 

Otto  I  (the  Great),  Emp.,  145; 
11,47 

Otton,  Dr.  Mark,  90 

PAGANS'  Walls,  37,  56 

Pajol,  GL,  235,  236 

Pajot,  Marianne,  155 

Palatine,  Princess,  166 

Palikao,  Gl.  Ct.  de,  235 

Palissot  de  Montenoy,  182 

Pandours,  106,  177 

Pan-Germanists,  142,  143 

Paris  libelled,  138,  139  ;  fall  of,  263 

Parlements  of  Metz,  Nancy,  etc.,  185, 

187 

Pasteur,  L.,  225 
Peace  of  1871,  9,  264  to  266 
Pelle,  Gl.,  231 
Pepin  the  Short,  K.,  65 
Persigny,  D.  de,  125 
Petermann,  Herr,  205 
Petite-Pierre,  La,  53,  233 
Pfister,  C.,  on  language  in  A.-L.,  207 

et  seq. 


Phalsbourg,  53, 190 ;  siege  of,  in  1870, 

232,  233,  246 

Philip  I  of  Swabia,  Emp.,  71 
Philip  IV,  of  Spain,  87 
Pius  VII,  Pope,  119  ;  IX,  278 
Place-names  in  A.-L.,  60,  212  etseq., 

219,  220,  293  to  296 
Plague,  the  black,  75 
Plebiscitum  impossible  in  A.-L.,  271 

to  273 

Plombieres,  180 
Plunder,  German,  259 
Poland,  126,  167,  168,  169 
Pont-a-Mousson  university,  157,  180, 

185 
Population  of  A.-L.,  9,  271,  274,  290  ; 

of  Lorraine  in  old  times,  156,  162, 

185 

Posthumus,  Emp.,  61 
Potatoes  in  Lorraine,  164 
Pouget,  M.,  deputy,  279 
Poultroie,  La,  40,  60 
Poussay  Abbey,  155,  187 
Pouyer-Quertier,  269 
Prehistoric  man,  see  Man 
Pretender,  the  young,  163,  181 
Prisons,  new  German,  in  A.-L.,  275 
Probus,  Emp.,  61 
Pron,  Baron,  241 
Protest    of    A.-L.    against    German 

annexation,  264  et  seq. 
Protestants  in  Alsace,  81,  82,  84,  86, 

93,  99,  100,  103,  105,  108,  119,  121 
Prussia,  in  relation  to  Belgium,  5  to 

7;    claims    Alsace    (1814),    120; 

annexes  Sarre  valley,  191 ;    seizes 

German  States,  196  ;  her  claims  on 

Neufchatel,  132  et  seq. 
Prussianism,  growth  of,  239 
Public  Safety  Law,  French,  195 
Pultava  battle,  172 

QUINET,  E.,  265,  266 

RACE  and  Language,  203  et  seq. 
Raess,  Bp.  of  Strasburg,  277  to  280 
Railways  in  A.-L.,  13,  14  ;  first  ones 

in  Alsace,  126 
Rambervillers,  220,  258 


INDEX 


309 


Rapp,  Gl.  Ct.,  39 

Rastadt,  see  Treaties 

Rebellions  in  Alsace,  33,  34,  80,  81 

Reformation  in  Alsace,  81 

Regnier,  253 

Reichstag,  German,  267  et  seq.,  277 

to  280,  288 

Reinach,  Comt.  de,  247,  248 
Remiremont  Abbey,  187,  220 
Renard,  Ct.,  260,  261 
Rene  I  (the  "good  king"),  D.  of 

Lorraine,  147  to  149 ;  II,  149, 180, 

184 

Republic,  second  French,  128  to  130 
Republicanism  in  Lorraine,  195 
Renter,  Col.  v.,  286,  287 
Revenues  of  A.-L.,  289,  290  ;   ducal, 

in  Lorraine,  167,  174 
Revolution,  first  French,  in  Alsace, 

108  et  seq. ;  in  Lorraine,  188  et  seq. ; 

of  1848,  128 
Revolutionary  Tribunal  at  Strasburg, 

112,  113;    at  Mirecourt,  191;    in 

Paris,  111,  112,  113 
Rewbell,  J.  F.,  109,  114 
Rhine,    the,    10,    11,    12,    17,    18; 

Roman  fortresses  on,  60 
Ribeaupierre,  lords  of,  40 
Ribeauville,  40 
Ricardis,  Empress,  38 
Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  32,  69 
Richelieu,  Card.,  82  to  84,  153,  154 
Rigny,  Adm.  de,  224 
Rivers   of  Alsace,    11,    12,    15 ;     of 

Lorraine,  18 

Roads,  Roman,  in  Alsace,  60 
Robert,  D.  of  Bar,  147 
Robertsau,  259 
Robespierre,  113 
Robber  knights,  70 
Rochambeau,  Ml.  Ct.  de,  107 
Roche,  see  Ban 
Rcedern,  Ct.  v.,  288,  289 
Rohan,  Cardinals  de,  34,  106,  110 
Romans  in  Alsace,  56  et  seq.  ;•  their 

forts  and  roads,  60 
Roudolphi,  M.  E.,  272,  290 
Rouffach,  41 
Rouget  de  lisle,  30,  31 


Rougemont,  59 

Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  72  to  74 

Ruffach,  41 

Russia  opposes  Prussian  demand  for 
Alsace  (1814),  120;  supports 
France  against  Bismarck  (1875), 
282 

Rustauds,  their  rebellion,  33,  34,  81 

SAINT-DIE,  180, 185,  269 

Saint- Just,  L.  de,  113 

Saint-Louis,  147 

Saint  Odilia,  36,  37 

Saint-Privat,  234 

Saint-Simon,  D.  de,  95 

Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines,  221 

Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines,  209,  221 

Salt  in  A.-L.,  20,  21,  186 

Sans-Gene,  Mme.,  41 

Sarre  river,  and  its  valley,  11,  12,  18, 

191, 193, 194,  212,  269 
Sarrealben,  51 
Sarrebourg,  51 
Sarrebruck,  51,  231 
Sarreguemines,  51 
Sarrelouis,  51,  156,  190  to  193 
Sarreunion,  52 
Saverne,   33,   34,   60,   81,   83,   215; 

affair  at,  286  et  seq. 
Saxe,  Ml.,  29, 107 
Saxe- Weimar,  Bernard  of,  83 
Scarcity  in  Alsace,  115, 116, 120, 127  ; 

in  Lorraine,  175,  176,  178,  179 
Schad,  Lieut.,  286,  287 
Scheffer,  Ary  and  Henry,  122 
Schlestadt,  38  ;  siege  in  '70,  247 
Schmeling,  Gl.  v.,  247,  248 
Schnsebele  affair,  283 
Schneider,  Eulogius,  110,  112,  113 
Schools  in  A.-L.,  see  Education 
Schwabs,  98 

Schwcerbrief  Constitution,  73 
Seasons,  bad,  see  Scarcity 
Second  French  Empire  founded,  130 

et  seq. 

Sedan  battle,  8,  235,  236 
Seille,  river,  18 
Seltz,  60,  213 
Sicily,  Germans  in,  72 


310 


INDEX 


Sieges  in  1870-71,  see,  Belfort,  Bitche, 
Longwy,  Metz,  Montmedy,  Neuf- 
Brisach,  Phalsbourg,  Schlestadt, 
Strasburg,  Thionville,  Toul 

Sigismund  of  Hapsburg,  Landgrave, 
79,  80 

Sigismund  Francis,  Archduke,  88 

Smalkalde  League,  81 

Sophia  of  Bar,  147 

Soultz,  41 

Sovereign  Court  of  Lorraine,  154, 179, 
185 

Speckle,  D.,  102 

Spicheren.  the,  52 

Stanislas,  King,  D.  of  Lorraine,  167, 
168,  169,  172  et  seq. ;  his  benefac- 
tions, 180;  his  mistresses  and  Court, 
181 ;  his  tragic  death,  183,  184 

Stanley,  Sir  H.  M.,  282 

States  General,  of  1780,  108,  188 

Stephany  on  the  Germans  in  A.-L., 
285,  286 

Stilicho,  62,  63 

Stipulations  of  Strasburg' s  union 
with  France,  297  et  seq. 

Storks  in  Alsace,  226 

Strasburg,  25  to  32,  59,  60,  71  et  seq., 
75,  93,  126,  128,  190,  216 ;  -battle 
of,  62 ;  bishops  of,  69,  72,  81,  82, 
86,  88,  89,  93,  105,  106  ;  cathedral 
of,  27,  28,  240,  241,  298  ;  church 
of  St.  Thomas  at,  29  ;  constitution 
of,  73,  74,  109  ;  library  of,  32,  240  ; 
siege  of  (1870),  233,  237  et  seq., 
244,  245,  268 ;  united  to  France, 
91  et  seq.,  97,  99,  100,  297  et  seq.  ; 
university  of,  27,  31,  32,  222,  225, 
273,  274,  280 

Swabians,  the,  57 

Swedes  in  Alsace,  82  to  85 

Swentibold,  67,  144 

Switzerland  and  the  Swiss,  11,  44, 
46,  75,  80,  89,  114,  115,  133,  134, 
189,  241,  257 

TAILLANT,  Com.,  246,  247 
Tastu,  Mme.,  30,  31 
Taxation  in  Alsace,  108  ;  in  Lorraine 
and  Bar,  162,  175,  176,  179,  184 


Tessier,  Col.,  248,  249 

Teutsch,  M.,  deputy,  278 

Textiles  in  A.-L.,  22  to  24 

Thann,  42,  43 

Thiers,  Adolphe,  141,  206,  208,  252, 
258,  269 

Thionville,  50,  51,  204,  212  ;  siege  in 
'70,  250,  254 

Thirty  Years'  War,  82  et  seq. 

Thouvenel,  M.,  193 

Three  Bishoprics,  see  Bishoprics 

Tiberius,  Emp.,  59 

Tobacco  in  A.-L.,  18,  19,  119,  259 

Tolbiac  battle,  64 

Toul,  47,  149  to  151,  160 ;  siege  in 
'70,  251,  252 

Treaties  :  Augsburg,  81,  86  ;  Mersen, 
67 ;  Minister,  see  Westphalia ; 
Nimeguen,  86,  92,  297 ;  Osna- 
briick,  86;  Passau,  86;  the 
Pyrenees,  87,  154,  156 ;  Rastadt, 
86 ;  Ratisbon  (truce),  103 ;  Rys- 
wick,  86,  87,  104,  105,  156; 
Verdun,  66  ;  Westphalia  (Minister), 
85  et  seq.,  151,  154,  297 

Treves,  Archbps.  of,  146,  159 

Treskow,  Gl.  v.,  257 

Tribocci  Germans,  57,  59,  214 

Turenne,  ML,  39,  85,  86,  91 

Turkheim,  86,  91 

Tuscany,  88,  168  to  170 

UHBICH,  GL,  237  et  seq. 
Urban  VIII,  Pope,  155 

VALENTIN,  Edmond,  131,  241  to  243, 

245 

Valentinian  I,  Emp.,  62,  63 
Vandals,  the,  62,  63 
Vauban,  Ml.,  26,  51,  53, 102 
Vaudrey,  Col.,  125 
Veldence  or  Veldenz,  Palatin  de,  299, 

300 
Verdun,  47,  66,  146,  149  to  151,  186  ; 

siege  in  '70,  250,  251 
Victoria,  Queen,  3,  4 
Villars,  Ml.,  104 
Vineyards,  in  A.-L.,  16  to  19 
Visigoths,  the,  63,  64 


INDEX 


311 


Voltaire,  182 

mountains, 
volunteers,  189 


10,     14,     15 ; 


WAGNER,  Wolf,  224 

Waldersbach,  Gl.  de,  250 

Waldreda,  144 

Walewski,  Ct.,  134,  137 

Wallenstein,  84 

Wars :  Augsburg,  104 ;  Austrian 
succession,  106,  159,  176;  Polish 
succession,  168 ;  Spanish  succes- 
sion, 104 ;  Seven  Years',  178 ; 
Thirty  Years',  82  et  seq.  ;  Revolu- 
tionary, 109,  111,  113  ;  Napoleonic, 
120;  Franco-German  (1870-71), 
4,  5  et  seq.,  50,  52,  53,  85,  140,  141, 
228  to  266 

War  scares  (1875-87),  281  et  seq. 

Wasselonne,  35 

Wedel,  Ct.  v.,  287,  288 

Welsch  villages  in  A.-L.,  209  et  seq. 


Werder,  Gl.  v.,  237  et  seq.,  240  to  242, 

244 

Wesserling,  43 
William  I.,  Germ.  Emp.,  132,  262; 

II,  49,  58 

William  of  Orange,  104,  300 
Wimpffen,  Gl.  de,  236 
Wines  of  Alsace,  17,  40 
Wissembourg,  32,  33,   111 ;    battle, 

231 

Witches  in  Lorraine,  161 
W5rth,  battle,  33,  231,  232 ;   counts 

of,  68,  69 
Wurmser,  Ml.,  111,224 

YOUNG,  Arthur,  176 

ZABERN,  see  Saverne 
"  Zadig,"  Voltaire's,  182 
Zones  of  Alsace,  14  et  seq. 
Zorn-Bulach,  v.,  287,  288 
Zwei-Brticken,  D.  of,  40 


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